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*'Our County and Its People " 



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"#ur Countp anti Sts people 



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A History 0/ 
HAMPDEN COUNTY 

Massachusetts 



(Ctiitor 

Alfred Minot Copeland 

President of Connecticut Valley Historical Society and President of 
Springfield Geological Club 




Volume €)ne 

The Century Memorial Publishing Company 

1902 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two CWiEs Received 

NOV. 1 1902 

. COPVTllflHT, ENTRY 

CLASS (AxXa No 
OOPY A. 



Copyrighted 1902 

BY 

Alfred Minot Copeland 






^1r 



To 

Marcus Perrin Knowlton 

ONE OF HAMPDEN COUNTY'S 
MOST HONORED SONS 

This volume is respectfully 

SDedicated 



ALFRED M. COPELAND 

President of the Connecticut I'alley Historical Society & 
President of Springfield Geological Club 

9iitbor0 

JAMES CARRUTHERS GREENOUGH, LL.D., WILLIAM ORR, 
JAMES L. BOWEN, MARSHAL CALKINS, A.M., M.T>., ETHAN 
BROOKS, HENRY L. HINES, ALFRED M. COPELAND, LYMAN N. 
CLARK, CHARLES L. YOUNG, LEWIS C. ALDRICH, ORRIN P. 
ALLEN, GEORGE E. FULLER, M.D., JOHN H. CARMICHAEL, M.D. 

LOUIS TESSON 

(Etiitar0 

CHARLES L. GARDNER, EDWIN L. KIRTLAND 

FREDERICK W. CHAPIN, M.T). 

GEORGE S. STEBBINS, M.T)., CHARLES P. HOOKER, M.T>. 

THEODORE F. BRECK, M.T). 



T^reface 



A SEARCH of the catalogues and the shelves in the 
large public libraries of Boston discloses the fact 
that the eastern counties of Massachusetts are pro- 
vided with good separate histories, while our own Hamp- 
den County, as important from a commercial point of view 
and far more historic than many of those east of us, can- 
not boast anything of a general historical character worthy 
of mention. 

In preparing this work it has been the chief aim to 
present to the citizens of this county a reliable and care- 
fully prepared historical record; a work tliat shall properly 
reflect the men and the times in all generations of the past ; 
a work that shall be free from the objectionable features 
that too often bring honest history into disrepute; and a 
work of which our people may feel proud rather than one 
for which we are called upon to apologize. 

Feeling the actual need of such a work, I undertook 
to stand as chief controlling editor of a comprehensive 
three-volume history of Hampden county, to be called 
" Our County and Its People," and to this end have di- 
rected my best energies until the task is finally completed. 
The public will judge, and judge justly, if this work has 
been well done. It has been no easy task to find men in 
the different towns of the county properly qualified and 
willing to write the local town histories. To some extent 
we have found such men, and their work has been well 
done. It is extremely difficult to obtain every important 
fact touching the history of towns that within the last 



X PREFACE 

fifty years have not only lost many of their most impor- 
tant citizens and with them valuable historic facts of which 
no records have been left, but whose places are now occu- 
pied by people not of their kin, and in no way interested 
in the town's former inhabitants. In preparing the present 
work we have earnestly endeavored to obtain all the im- 
portant local facts, and to make the histories of the differ- 
ent towns as complete as possible. 

We made earnest effort, and with fairly good results, 
to obtain brief ancestral records of all families identified 
with the history and the development of Hampden county. 
There was, for the most part a generous response to our 
effort in this respect; and we present a reasonably fulh 
but not so complete a record as was hoped. 

A. M. C. 



Contents 



CHAPTER I 
GEOLOGY OF HAMPDEN COUNTY 



CHAPTER II 
DISCOVERY AND OCCUPATION 

Early European Discoveries in America — The French in Canada — 
The Dutch in New York — The English in Virginia — The Puri- 
tans in New England — Three European Powers Claim Sover- 
eignty over the Territory Comprising Massachusetts — Over- 
throw of the Dutch in the Netherlands — Struggle for Suprem- 
acy between the French and the English — End of the French 
Dominion 14 

CHAPTER III 

THE INDIANS 

French and Jesuit Influence Among the Indians — The New England 
Missionaries — Location and Probable Origin of the New Eng- 
land Tribes — The Connecticut River Indians — Their Habits 
and Characteristics — Efforts to Establish Education and 
Christianity Among the Tribes — Dutch Settlers sell them Guns 
and Rum 20 

CHAPTER IV 
COLONIZATION AND SETTLEMENT 

English Colonization and Settlement in America — The Plymouth 
and London Companies — Landing of the Pilgrims — Distress in 
the Colony — Massasoit's Generosity — Accessions to the Colony 
— Plantations Founded in the Connecticut Valley — The Colony 
at Agawam — Springfield Founded — Independent Government 
for the Connecticut River Plantations — Springfield returns to 
Massachusetts Jurisdiction — Four Counties Incorporated — 
Springfield not Included 27 



xii COXTEXTS 

CHAPTER V 

STRUGGLES WITH THE INDIANS 

Dissensions among tlie Colonists — Beginning of the Indian Troubles 
— The Pequot War — Narragansetts Allied to the English — 
Destruction of the Pequots — An Era of Peace and Prosperity — 
Militia Companies formed in the Valley — Construction of Forti- 
fied Houses — Fort Pynchon — Events preceding King Philip's 
War — The Outbreak — Nipmuck Treachery at Brookfield. The 
War in the Connecticut Valley — Burning of Springfield — West- 
field twice Attacked — The Affair at Longmeadow — Decisive Ac- 
tion by the Colonies — Indians Driven from the Valley — Death 
of King Philip— End of the War 38 

CHAPTER VI 
COLONIAL WARS 

From the close of King Phillip's War to the End of the French 
Dominion — Indians ask to be Restored to their Former Pos- 
sessions in the Connecticut Valley — King William's War — 
Indian Depredations of the Frontier — Queen Anne's War — 
Treaty of Utrecht — Trouble with the Abenaquis — Father 
Rasle and Woronoak — War again Declared Between England 
and France — Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle — War Resumed — The 
Hampshire County Regiment at Lake George — Troops Assem- 
bled at Springfield — End of the War — Treaty of Paris 57 

CHAPTER VII 

WAR OF THE REVOLUTION 69 

CHAPTER VIII 

THE INSURRECTION OF 1786-7— THE SHAYS REBELLION 86 

CHAPTER IX 
THE WAR OF 1812-1815 100 

CHAPTER X 

COUNTY ORGANIZATION 108 

CHAPTER XT 
HAMPDEN COUNTY CIVIL LIST 124 



CONrENTS xiii 

CHAPTER XTI 
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 152 

CHAPTER XIII 
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS— RAILROADS 175 

CHAPTER XIV 
CONNECTICUT RIVER NAVIGATION 188 

CHAPTER XV 
HAMPDEN COUNTY IN THE WAR OF 1861-1865 198 

CHAPTER XVI 

EDUCATION IN HAMPDEN COUNTY 232 

CHAPTER XVII 

STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, WESTFIELD 264 

CHAPTER XVIII 

THE HAMPDEN BENCH AND BAR 293 

CHAPTER XIX 
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 338 

CHAPTER XX 
THE DENTAL PROFESSION 390 

CHAPTER XXI 

THE PRESS OF HAMPDEN COUNTY— ITS HISTORY AND 

DEVELOPMENT 416 

CHAPTER XXII 
FREE MASONRY AND ODD FELLOWSHIP 464 

CHAPTER XXIII 

AGRICULTURE OF HAMPDEN COUNTY 499 



Illustrations 



Four Pynchon 42 

A Relic of the Revolution 80 

Entrance to U. S. Armory Grounds 82 

United States Watershops 84 

Outline Map of Hampden County 107 

The First Court House 113 

Court Square, Springfield 118 

The Second Court House 120 

Hampden County Court House 122 

The Boston Stone 153 

Boston and Albany Stage Coach 160 

Old South Holy'Oke Ferry 162 

The Old Toll Bridge 167 

Chicopee Bridge 169 

Willimansett Bridge 172 

Old B. & A. Crossing, Looking North 176 

Old B. & A. Crossing, Looking South 179 

The Arch. B. & A. Crossing 182 

A Connecticut Ri\'er View 193 

G. A. R. Building, Springfield 199 

Brig.-Gen. Horace C. Lee, Portrait 227 

First Normal School Building, 1846 276 

Normal School Building. 1860 281 

Normal School Building, 1869 284 

Present Normal School Building 287 

Chief Justice Reiben Atwatf.r Chapman, Portrait 307 

George Ashmux, Portrait 315 

Oliver B. Morris, Portrait 317 

William B. Calhoun, Portrait 319 

William G. Bates, Portrait 321 



X vi IL L ( WFRA TIONS 

Col. William S. Shurtlekf, Portrait 326 

Gov. George D. Robinson, Portrait 330 

Dr. William Tully, Portrait 353 

Dr. Thaddeus K. DeWolf, Portrait 366 

Dr. Henry R. Vaille, Portrait 368 

Dr. George W. Swazey, Portrait 383 

Flavius Searle, D. D. S., Portrait 397 

First Home of Springfield Republican 426 

Samuel Bowles, Portrait 429 

JosiAH Gilbert Holland, Portrait 431 

Clark W. Bryan, Portrait 436 

Henry M. Burt, Portrait 440 

Phineas L. Buell, Portrait 447 

Daniel Reynolds, Portrait 478 

George W. Ray, Portrait 480 

El.Il'HALET TRASK. PORTRAIT 486 



CHAPTER I 

GEOLOGY OF HAMPDEN COUNTY 
BY WILLIAM ORR 

Any consideration of the geography of Hampden county 
must give a large place to the marked physiographic differences 
between the highland and lowland areas. In Hampden county 
the valley of the Connecticut has an average width of fifteen 
miles. The valley is bounded on east and west by steep escarp- 
ments, the boundaries of an upland plateau with an elevation of 
eight hundred to nine hundred feet above the valley floor and of 
twelve hundred feet above the sea. 

Very striking are the contrasts between the highlands and 
the lowlands. In the valley there is formed a deep, rich, alluvial 
soil, which gives a basis for a prosperous farming industry. 
The ground is level and easily tilled. In some parts of the Ioav- 
land there is an accumulation of sand and gravel, and on these 
tracts cultivation is restricted to pasturage and forest growth. 
The streams in the lowland are of slow current and meandering 
course. By reason of the large volume of water, these streams 
are important sources of power, where there is any fall in their 
channel. Communication is easy between the valley towns. As 
a result of these physiographic conditions, the important centers 
of commerce, manufactures, and, in a large measure, of agricul- 
ture, are found in the valley lowland. A survey of the history of 
Hampden county will show that Springfield, in the geographical 
center of the valley, was the first settlement, and next in order 
came the cluster of towns and cities that noAV surround Spring- 
field. The hill towns were settled at later dates. 

The upland country may be described in general terms as a 
dissected plateau. On the west it extends from the border of the 



1-1 



( 1 ) 



OVE COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Connecticut valley to the hills of the Berkshires. The elevation 
is from one thousand to twelve hundred feet above the sea. Allu- 
vial soil is found occasionally in places, where the material car- 
ried down the hillsides by rain accumulates. Where the forest 
growth has prevailed for a long time there is formed a thick 
layer of vegetable mould, that constitutes a valuable soil. In 
the open country the soil is variable in quality, but does not as a 
rule approach the high grade alluvium of the valley. Unremit- 
ting industry and careful attention to detail are needed to win 
success in farming. The valleys are canyon-like in character, 
with steep sides and with slight development of river or flood 
plains. Bowlders, large and small, fill up the beds of the streams 
and mountain brooks and heighten the picturesque quality of the 
region. The channel slopes are steep, often abrupt, and valuable 
water powers abound. The main highways follow the larger 
valleys, while to reach the higher levels one must struggle up the 
hard and severe grades of the mountain roads. 

A way for the principal railroad of the region, the Boston 
and Albany, has been provided by the valley of the Westfield river. 
It is by this valley that communication is established from the 
Connecticut river lowlands to the valley of the Housatonic. The 
drainage system has not been perfectly developed by reason of 
the comparative youth of the main rivers and their tributaries. 
As a result there are considerable areas of bogs and swamps on 
certain of the upland plateaus. But little connection can be 
traced between the character and structure of the rocks and the 
erosion of the region. The valleys are for the most part trans- 
verse and the general trend of the drainage is towards the south- 
east. A somewhat important longitudinal valley is that which 
extends northward from Huntington, but this is situated for the 
most part in Hampshire county. 

The western highlands contain valuable deposits of minerals 
and extensive quarries of building stone. A most noted mineral 
is the emery found at Chester. Kaolin, quartz, felspar and soap- 
stone are found in Blandford. At Mundale in the town of West- 
field a quarry of a verd antique marble has been opened, and is 
yielding an ornamental stone of excellent quality. 

( 2 ) 



GEOLOGY 

The pursuits of the people on the uplands are in the main 
agriculture, including grazing, lumbering and general farming. 
There are a number of small factories located on the streams 
where water power is found. The development of mineral re- 
sources is another industry of importance. In the summer time 
the hill country is a favorite resort for city people, by reason of 
the clear, cool air, pure water, and attractive scenery. 

Eastward of the Connecticut valley is another plateau region 
that extends into Worcester county. This plateau is in most re- 
spects like that to the westward. The elevation is not so great and 
the plan of the valley systems is in some respects much simpler. 
The main drainage channel is the Chicopee river, which corre- 
sponds to the Westfield river in the western plateau. There is 
a finely developed longitudinal valley, which follows the course 
of Swift river and is continued through Palmer and Monson. 
An accumulation of glacial material at Palmer has caused a 
diversion of the Swift river to the west, but the valley opens 
southward to the waters of the Willimantic river. 

Along the valley of the Chicopee river run the tracks of the 
Boston and Albany railway, and this road constitutes the main 
avenue of communication with the east. In the longitudinal 
valley of Palmer and jMonson, way has been found for the New 
London Northern railroad. The eastern plateau is more accessi- 
ble and less rugged in character than the western, and settle- 
ments are larger and manufacturing developed on a more im- 
portant scale. There are several towns of large size, as Palmer 
and Monson. Many of the towns possess extensive water power 
and good railroad facilities. Farming suffers from the dil!icul- 
ties of a rocky country, where the ground abounds in stones and 
bowlders, and the soil is only moderately fertile. Extensive 
quarries are at Monson, where a high grade of building stone, 
known as Monson granite, is found. 

It will be clear from this sketch of the general features of 
Hampden county that its physical geography and geology may 
be discussed in relation to three comparatively distinct districts ; 
the western highlands, the valley lowlands, and the eastern high- 
lands. This paper will deal with the present conditions and with 

( 3 ) 



OIR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

the processes by which this development of the region has been 
attained. 

The underlying rocks of the western highlands consist of 
ancient crystalline schists, quartzites, gneiss with beds of am- 
phibolite, serpentine, emery and magnetite. The older forma- 
tions are to the westward, Avhere on the borders of the county 
there are fonnd exposures of the Becket gneiss. This rock is 
now regarded as Lower Cambrian in age. In the township of 
Tolland the Becket gneiss is wrapped around a rock of still 
earlier age— the Washington gneiss. The latter formation is 
pre-Cambrian, or Algonkian. 

The Washington gneiss is rusty in color, by reason of the de- 
composition of its iron bearing minerals, as hornblende and pyr- 
rhotite. It is composed in the main of quartz and biotite mica. 
Graphite is found in all the exposures and a blue quartz, which 
often gives the rock a beautiful color. In the town of Washing- 
ton there is a graphite mine in this rock. The rock may be 
studied to advantage on the line of the railroad from Becket east 
towards the Middlefield line. The change to the Becket gneiss 
may also be seen at this point. The Becket gneiss is light grey 
in color, fine grained and composed of but few minerals. The 
gray color is caused by the biotite mica, as the felspar and quartz 
are colorless. Some of the Becket gneiss is a coarse conglomer- 
ate, other exposures are thin-fissile, while again it is a fine grained 
granitoid-gneiss— a most excellent quarry stone. It is quarried 
at Middlefield and in Becket and is suitable for construction and 
monumental work. On the east side of the Connecticut river, the 
Monson gneiss is the correlative of the Becket gneiss. 

The Lower Silurian rocks of the western uplands are the 
Hoosac schist, the Kowe schist, the Chester amphibolites with 
emery and serpentine, the Savoy schist and the Hawley schist. 
Exposures of all these rocks may be found in the western part of 
Chester. The oldest rock of these formations— the Hoosac schist 
— is hydrated and is greasy in feeling, and in some cases contains 
garnets. There are two kinds of mica, muscovite and biotite, and 
the quartz grains are often cemented by crystals of albite. It is 
technically known as an albitic-sericite schist. 

( 4 ) 



GEOLOGY 

The Rowe schist may be seen to good advantage on the Ches- 
ter-Becket road westward from Chester. It is a coarse, sericitic 
schist, soft and greasy, and often is quartzose in character and of 
firm texture. Professor Emerson estimates that the thickness of 
this rock series is about seven thousand feet. 

In connection with the valuable emery deposits at Chester 
there are found beds of amphibolite and of serpentine. The 
amphibolite is a dark green rock, and has on its eastern border 
extensive deposits of serpentine and soapstone or steatite. The 
emery and magnetite of Chester are closely associated with the 
hornblende schist or amphibolite, while in Blandford, Osborn's 
soapstone quarry is found in the same connection. 

The Chester emery bed was first worked as a magnetite de- 
posit, but in 186-4 it was found that emery occurred in connection 
with the magnetite, and since that time a great amount of the ore 
has been obtained. Emery is of great value in the mechanical 
arts, because of its hardness and abrasive qualities. The Chester 
emery is of excellent quality. 

After the band of Chester amphibolite, there comes next in 
order the Savoy schist. In Chester this formation is from one to 
two miles wide, but in Blandford and Russell it reaches a breadth 
of seven miles. It is a muscovite schist, with hydrated mica. 
It is light grey in color, and is soapy in feeling. The Hawley 
schist — the uppermost member of the lower Silurian series, is 
scarcely represented in Hampden county. It is a sericitic schist 
and in the northern part of the state contains beds of iron and 
manganese ores. 

Under the head of upper Silurian rocks, there are placed the 
Goshen and Conway schists. The Goshen schist is found in 
Chester and Russell. The rock is dark colored by reason of 
graphite, and contains garnets. The Conway schists are much 
corrugated, and are called spangled schists, from the fact that 
the crystals of biotite mica show shining cleavage surfaces on a 
section across the grain of the rock. Beds of this rock occur in 
the northeast part of the town of ]\Iontgomery. Along the east- 
ern border of the upland area there are found outcrops of an 
igneous rock of carboniferous age. It is known as the Williams- 

( 5 ) 



OlE COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

burg granite. This rock is a coarse musoovite-biotite granite. 
A great miishrooni-like mass of this rock can be seen on Mount 
Tekoa in JNIontgomery. The rounded dome of granite can be 
seen in sharp contrast with the darker schists. 

The Devonian period is not represented by any rocks in the 
area of Hampden county and there are no deposits of cretaceous 
age. 

All the rocks of the western highlands are much altered by 
heat, pressure and chemical action from their original condition. 
The old layers have been either changed in direction by folding 
or else entirely destroyed and their place taken by a cleavage 
structure. The dip of the strata is nearly vertical, while the 
direction in which the strata run is approximately north and 
south. All the rocks of the highland country are of a much 
greater age than those of the valley lowland. 

The eastern highlands present a similar succession of forma- 
tions as those just described for the western hill country. In some 
eases the rock characters are not exactly the same as in the corre- 
sponding formation on the west of the river. There is, more- 
over, a certain parallelism of strata that is worthy of note, and a 
close relation between erosion and the nature of the underlying 
rock. On the hillside above the village of AVilbraham there is 
found a good example of Conway schist. This formation ex- 
tends from the state line to a point about two miles north of the 
Chicopee river in Ludlow. The rock is coarse, light gray, and 
abounds in muscovite. As a result of the pressure along the 
eastern edge of the valley, the rock is crumpled and silicified. 
Along the crest of Wilbraham mountain there are found numer- 
ous bands of hornblende, of the same age as the Chester amphibo- 
lite. This hornblende is fissile and splits into thin layers. The 
surface shows a black, satiny appearance by reason of the inter- 
lacing needles of hornblende crystals. A small outcrop of Savoy 
schist is found in the south part of the town of Hampden. It is 
known as whetstone schist, and is a gray rock of granular struc- 
ture, abounding in quartzite. To the east of the schist of Wil- 
braham the country rock for a distance of six miles is composed 
of the Becket gneiss, locally known as the Monson granite. 

( 6 ) 



GEOLOGY 

Then comes a succession of several formations, each repre- 
sented by long narrow outcrops. By reason of the upfolding of 
the rocks and subsequent erosion, the succession of strata from 
west to east is as follows: Chester amphibolite. Savoy schist, 
and Conway schist as the center of the series; then in reverse 
order, Savoy schist, Chester amphibolite and Rowe schist. The 
rock which constitutes the bottom and sides of the valley from 
Palmer through Monson is composed of the "Monson 
granite"— the equivalent of the Becket gneiss, and it 
is in this outcrop that the well known quarries are located. The 
stone found at this point is of excellent quality and has been used 
in the construction of many noted buildings. The traveller who 
goes eastward from the INlonson rock passes in order over Chester 
amphibolite, the Brimfield schist, an equivalent of the Conway 
schist, the Savoy schist, and then over another series of out-crops 
of the Brimfield schist. In connection with the Monson 
granite there are several dikes of an intrusive black trap rock of 
igneous origin, while in Brimfield there is found the Coy's Hill 
granitite, a coarse porphyritic biotite granite. Another igneous 
rock of carboniferous age is the Belchertown tonalite, a great 
block of which is thrust over the boundary line of Ludlow and 
Palmer. Tonalite is a granitoid rock, containing quartz, plagio- 
clase, felspar and hornblende. 

In character, dip, strike and structure, the rocks of the east- 
ern highlands bear a close resemblance to those of the west, and a 
close correlation has been established between the two. Both 
series have been subject to similar agencies, physical and chemi- 
cal, and the original rock materials have been subjected to like 
metamorphosis. 

In the valley lowland, rocks of a much more recent formation 
than those of the hills are found. The layers are but little 
changed from a horizontal position, and the amount of folding 
and crushing has been very slight. All the rocks can be classified 
as sandstone, though there are differences in composition and 
structure that make possible rough distinctions. The rock on the 
eastern and western borders is known as the Sugar Loaf sand- 
stone. It is coarse in structure, and abounds in felspar, and is 

( 7 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

composed of angular granite debris cemented together. Outside 
of this deposit there occurs in Wilbraham and Hampden a por- 
tion of the Mt. Toby conglomerate, where the rock is composed of 
very coarse angular fragments of slate. Adjoining the area of 
Sugar Loaf sandstone, is found the Longmeadow sandstone, a 
reddish brown stone, very fine grained. This rock often shows 
the imprint of tracks of ancient animals, mud cracks, ripple 
marks and rain drops. The central part of the valley is occupied 
by the Chicopee shale, which is very fine grained, red and black 
in color, and composed of sand and clay. 

As a result of earth movements the layers of sandstone have 
been slightly displaced. The tilting has given the formation a 
slight dip towards the east. This direction may be easily seen 
where the upper surfaces of ledges are exposed, as in the quarries 
at East Longmeadow and also on the banks of the Chicopee 
river. This sandstone extends from near the north line of the 
state to the shores of Long Island sound. It proves an excellent 
building stone, and there are extensive quarries at East Long- 
meadow. Data obtained from borings for artesian wells and 
from other sources indicate that the entire deposit of sandstone 
is from three thousand to ten thousand feet in thickness. In 
certain localities the layers of sandstone show interesting traces 
of the ancient life of the region. Slabs have been found with 
the imprints of the feet of animals that were probably akin to the 
reptiles and amphibians of the present day. In other cases there 
are the traces of insects, impressions by waves and ripples, mud 
cracks caused by the drying of the deposits, and rain drop im- 
pressions made by passing showers on the plastic material. Ed- 
ward Hitchcock, professor of geology in Amherst college, and 
afterwards president of that institution, made an extensive col- 
lection of those impressions and embodied the results of his 
investigation in his Report on Ichnology, published in 1858. 

While the general surface of the valley is level, there is one 
notable exception to this iTile in the ridge of hills associated 
with Mounts Tom and Holyoke. In Hampden county these ridges 
pass through the western part of Holyoke, AVest Springfield and 
Agawam. The structure can be well studied on the line of the 

( 8 ) 



GEOLOGY 

Boston and Albany railroad between Mittineague and Westfield. 
Two distinct ridges may be seen. There is a cutting through the 
eastern and lower ridge just west of the station of Tatham. The 
rock is igneous in origin and is known as the Holyoke diabase. 
It is dark gray in color, compact and crystalline. A columnar 
structure is apparent at places, and there is no evidence of bed- 
ding. Some of the rock is porous and spongy in character and 
often the cavities are filled with quartz and calcite. At the west 
end of the cutting the trap diabase will be seen resting on the 
upper surface of sandstone. Some three-quarters of a mile to 
the west is another and higher ridge of the trap rock. In this 
there has been opened a large quarry. The rock is valuable as a 
material for macadamizing roads. In the walls of the quarry 
the columnar arrangement of the material is well developed. 
These two ridges are the result of successive outflows of lava, 
during the period of the deposition of the sandstone. In all 
probability the lava flowed over the muddy bottom of the estuary 
and was then covered by additional layers of mud and sand. 
These in time hardened into stone and then there was a second 
and smaller flow of lava. This in turn was covered by sand- 
stone. As a result of the tilting and faulting of the region, and 
etching out by subsequent erosion, the trap ridges now stand out 
in bold relief above the floor of sandstone. On the southern 
slopes of Mount Tom and ]\Iount Holyoke there are remains of 
distinct volcanic action; beds of tufa, and lava plugs, the re- 
mains of ancient volcanos have been mapped by the students of 
the geology of the region. 

It must be understood that the rock formations as described in 
this paper are the foundation for surface materials as soil, sand, 
gravel and clay. Throughout the upland country these super- 
ficial deposits can be traced very directly to glacier action. They 
consist of coarse sand and gravels, and there is no evidence of 
stratification, nor sorting of the bowlders or pebbles. The rock 
fragments are not rounded or polished, but are in form sub-angu- 
lar. Often the fields and pasture land are covered with great 
bowlders. The ledges of the country rock are in many places 
smoothed and scratched by the action of the moving ice sheets. 

( 9 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

In the valleys, great masses of this glacial debris have been 
washed down by streams and by heavy rains. The thickness of 
the glacial deposit or drift varies with localities. It is some- 
times piled np in rounded hills, known as drumlins, and again 
occurs as long ridges of gravel— called esker. McCarthy's hill 
in East Longmeadow is a good example of a drumlin, while a fine 
esker is to be seen in INIonson, east of the village and near the line 
of railroad. 

Under the surface drift there is found, more particularly in 
the wider valleys, a compact deposit of unstratified clays, sands, 
and rock fragments, known as bowlder clay or till. In the broad 
valley of the Connecticut, the action of river and lake have 
largely rearranged the glacial material. At the close of the ice 
age extensive lake systems were formed and out of these there 
were washed by rivers deposits of stratified clays and sands, as 
delta formations. It is on such a delta that Springfield is situ- 
ated. The fertile and alluvial meadows are the result of river 
action in shaping and molding the materials deposited in the 
glacial lakes. 

In studyingthe geological evolution of the region of Hampden 
county, attention must be first paid to the problem of the upland 
country. Originally the materials of the rocks of this country 
must have been deposited as sands, clays and limestone in waters 
of sea, bay, or ocean. Then by pressure these deposits were 
folded and faulted until mountains of considerable height were- 
formed. But as soon as the rock materials were exposed to the 
action of air and water, those latter agents began their work of 
leveling down the country. In time this process of denudation 
reduced the region to a base level, near sea level, and there was 
thus produced a peneplain of denudation. This peneplain is 
supposed to have been the result of atmospheric agencies, rather 
than of wave or sea action. 

After reduction to near sea level, the region was raised again, 
and as a result of this elevation and tilting the streams were once 
again given a definite slope, and then work of erosion Avas re- 
sumed. The comparatively even sky line of the hill country is 
an evidence of the peneplain, while the deep, narrow valleys and 

( 10 ) 



. GEOLOGY 

the frequent rapids and cataracts in the streams show that the 
drainage system is of recent and imperfect development. For 
the same reason, the brooks and rivers abound in water power 
facilities. 

The Connecticut valley is much different in topographical 
features from the valleys in the upland country. It presents 
evidences of mature development in its broad river plain, and its- 
gently sloping sides. It has none of the canyon-like character of 
the valley of the Westfield river. The explanation of these dif- 
ferences, however, is not so much one of age as of the conditions 
of rock and structure. 

At some time, long before the development of the peneplain^ 
the area of the valley lowland Avas subjected to a marked depres- 
sion in level. As a result, the waters of the sea covered the crys- 
talline rocks and a broad, shallow estuary was formed. In this 
estuary deposits of mud and sand were made. These deposits 
were coarsest along the eastern and Avestern slopes of the bay,, 
where the currents and tides were strongest, and these materials 
Avhen consolidated formed the present Sugar Loaf sandstone and 
Mt. Toby conglomerate. Towards the center of the basin finer 
materials were laid down and became in time the Longmeadow 
sandstone and Chicopee shale. In such an estuary the tides are 
very high and when there was low water, extensive mud and 
sand flats Avere exposed. There was thus given an opportunity 
for impressions of various kinds to be made on the fresh surface. 
As the mud dried and hardened these Avere preserved under the 
layer of deposit made by the Avaters Avhen the mud banks Avere 
next covered. The completed result Avas a very deep bed of 
sandstone rock. 

In connection Avith the deposit of sandstone came the period 
of volcanic aetiA'ity, AA'hich gaA^e rise to the ridges of Mounts Tom 
and Holyoke. These trap ridges extend to Long Island sound, 
and constitute a most striking feature of the A^alley scenery. The 
outfloAV of trap occurred from certain fissures in the muddy bot- 
tom of the estuary. When the first and greatest floAA' occurred, 
the trap rolled sloAvly AvestAvard under the Avaters of the estuary 
and then cooled and hardened. INIore sandstone Avas deposited 

( 11 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

and then came a second flow, the material for the lesser ridge. 
The deposit of sandstone ceased with the general uplifting and 
tilting of the region and a period of erosion began. 

Under this process the sandstones yielded rapidly because of 
their loose structure and lack of power to resist the weather. 
The trap and the older crystalline rocks yielded but slowly to the 
erosive agencies, and so the general level of the Connecticut 
valley was cut down below that of the rocks to the east and west. 
The trap ridges also resisted the erosion and so gained a clear 
relief against the level of the sandstone. 

At a much later period there came a change in climate and 
arctic conditions prevailed in New England. Snow and ice 
accumulated until the country was covered with a glacier mass, 
like that which at present rests on Greenland. This ice mass 
moved in a general southerly direction in the Connecticut valley. 
It continued the work of erosion and scratched, scarred, smoothed 
or crumbled into fragments the rocks over which it passed. The 
drift material left by the glacier is found widely distributed 
over the face of the country. Bowlders and pebbles with the 
marks of glacial action abound, and often the ledges from which 
these bowlders were torn are many miles to the northward. 

With another change of climate, a rise in temperature, the ice 
melted and the glacial sheet retreated. This disappearance of 
the ice was not rapid or continuous. There were times when the 
glacier front halted or even resumed its advance. In the deeper 
valleys long lobes of ice Avere extended southward. By reason 
of the melting of the ice and the damming up of the natural 
drainage channels, extensive lake formations were formed in 
Western Massachusetts. In the valley, the Springfield lake 
extended from Mount Holyoke on the north to Middletown, 
Conn., on the south. Its westward lioundary was the ridge of 
Mount Tom, and on the east it washed the lower slopes of the 
Wilbraham hills. There was a smaller lake in the basin east of 
Wilbraham mountain, and the plain of Westfield was covered by 
the waters of a lake that extended from north of the Holyoke 
range. 

In such quiet, land-locked bodies of water, there was abundant 

( 12 ) 



GEOLOGY 

opportunity for extensive deposits, and the streams from north, 
east and west carried into these lakes, sands, gravels and fine silt. 
The central and deeper water contained finer material. Such 
was the formation of the clays, that noAV constitute the east bank 
of the river. Coarser materials were found near the outlets of 
rivers, as for example the gravels in the vicinity of Indian Or- 
chard. The Chicopee river built up in the Springfield lake a 
great delta of clay covered with sands. These deposits are strat- 
ified, and in this respect present a striking contrast to the glacial 
drift. 

After the lakes were filled with these materials, sands, clays 
and gravels, the river began to develop the present drainage 
system of the lowland. The Connecticut river as it made a 
pendulum-like motion from east to west, at the same time cut 
down through the lacustrine deposits. In this way there were 
formed the fine terraces which add so much to the beauty of 
Springfield. The Chicopee river was pushed northward by the 
delta formation. Thus, through the action of the main stream 
and its tributaries, the valley has attained its present contour. 
Now the river is engaged in two kinds of work. It is at certain 
places tearing down the banks, while a short distance away it is 
building alluvial plains like the meadows of Agawam. 

In geological history, the sandstones of the valley are placed 
in the Triassic period, the drift in the Glacial epoch, the clays 
and sand are of the Champlain period, and the cutting down of 
the river through the clays and sands occurred in the Terrace 
period. 

Note — Any one who wishes to make an exhaustive study of the geology of 
this region is referred to the elaborate monograph of Professor B. K. Emerson of 
Amherst. This worlv is entitled Geology of Old Hampshire county, Massachu- 
setts, and is volume XXIX of the monographs of the United States geological 
survey. Much use has been made of this monograph in the preparation of this 
chapter. 



( 13 ) 



CHAPTER II 
DISCOVERY AND OCCUPATION 

Early European Discoveries in America— The French in Canada 
—The Dutch in New York— The English in Virginia— The 
Puritans in New England— Three European Powers Claim 
Sovereignty over the Territory comprising Massachusetts— 
Overthroiv of the Dutch in the Netherlands— Struggle for 
Supremacy hetiveen the French and English— End of the 
French Dominion. 

In 1492, Christopher Columbus, a Genoese, sailing under the 
flag of Spain, made his wonderful discoveries in the Western 
hemisphere. This event in history always has been referred to 
as the discovery of America, yet the first Europeans to visit the 
continent were Scandinavians, who colonized Iceland A. D., 875, 
Greenland in 983, and about the year 1000 had cruised south- 
ward as far as the Massachusetts coast. 

Following close upon the discoveries of Columbus and other 
early explorers, various foreign powers fitted out fleets and 
commissioned navigators to establish colonies in the new country. 
In 1508 Aubert discovered the St. Lawrence river ; and in 1524, 
Francis I, king of France, sent Jean Verrazzani on a voyage of 
exploration to the new world. He entered a harbor, supposed to 
have been that of New York, where he remained fifteen days. 
This Gallic explorer cruised along the coast more than 2,100 
miles, sailing as far north as Labrador, and giving to the whole 
region the name of "New France"— a name by which the French 
possessions in America were afterward known during the domin- 
ion of that power. 

( 14 ) 



DISCOVERY AND OCCUPATION 

In 1534 the French king sent Jacques Cartier to the country. 
He made two voyages and ascended the St. Lawrence as far as 
Montreal. The next year he again visited the region with a fleet, 
which brought a number of the French nobility, all filled with 
high hopes and bearing the blessings of the church. This party 
was determined upon the colonization of the country, but after a 
winter of extreme suffering on the Isle of Orleans they aban- 
doned their sclieme and returned to France ; and as a beginning 
of the long list of needless and shameful betrayals, treacheries 
and other abuses to which the too confiding natives were sub- 
jected, Cartier inveigled into his vessel the Indian chief who had 
been his generous host and bore him with several others into 
hopeless captivity and final death. 

In 1540 Cartier again visited the scene of his former explora- 
tions, and was accompanied by Jean Francis de Roberval, the 
latter holding a king's commission as governor-general and being 
vested with plenary powers of vice-royalty. The results of this 
voyage, however, were no more satisfactory than those of their 
predecessor, and no further attempts were made in the same 
direction until 1598, when New France, particularly its Canadian 
portion, was made a place of banishment for French convicts; 
but even this scheme failed, and it remained for private enter- 
prise, stimulated by the hope of gain, to make the first successful 
effort toward the colonization of the country. 

The real discoverer and founder of a permanent colony 
in New France was Samuel de Champlain. who, in 1608, having 
counseled his patrons that the banks, of the St. Lawrence was the 
most favorable site for founding a new empire, was sent to the 
country and founded Quebec. To satisfy his love for explora- 
tion Champlain united with the Canadian Indians and marched 
into the country southward, which the latter had described to 
him. The result was the discovery of the lake which bears his 
name, the invasion of the Iroquois country and a conflict between 
the Algonquins (aided by Champlain) and a portion of the con- 
federacy, in which the latter lost two of their chiefs who fell by 
the hands of Champlain himself. 

Thus was signalized the first hostile meeting between the white 
man and the Indian. Low as the latter may have been found in 

( 15 ) 



01 R COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

the scale of intelligence and humanity, and terrible as were many 
of the subsequent deeds of the Indians, it cannot be claimed that 
their early treatment at the hands of the whites could foster in 
the savage breast any other than feelings of bitterest hostility. 
Champlain's declaration, "I had put four balls into my arque- 
bus," is a vivid testimony of how little mercy the Indians thence- 
forth were to receive from the pale-faced race which was event- 
ually to drive them from their domain. It Avas an age, however, 
in Avhich might was appealed to as right more frequently than in 
later years, and the planting of the lowly banner of the cross 
was often preceded by bloody conquest. However, it is in the 
light of the prevailing custom of the old world in Champlain's 
time that we must view his ready hostility to the Indian. Soon 
after 1622 a member of the Weymouth colony in New England, 
either in absolute need or in a spirit of Avantonness, stole from the 
Indians of the region, and in so doing incurred the hatred of the 
savages for all the whites of the plantation, who narrowly escaped 
a fearful slaughter at their hands. 

In 1609, a few weeks after the battle between Champlain 
and the Iroquois, Henry Hudson, a navigator in the service of 
the Dutch East India company, anchored his ship (the Half- 
Moon) at the mouth of the river which now bears his name. He 
met the savages and was hospitably received by them ; but before 
his departure he subjected them to an experimental knowledge 
of the effects of intoxicating liquor— an experience perhaps more 
baneful in its results than that inflicted by Champlain with his 
murderous weapon. 

Hudson ascended the river to a point within a hundred 
miles of that reached by Champlain, then returned to Europe 
and, through the information he had gained, soon afterw'ard 
established a Dutch colony, for which a charter was granted in 
1614, naming the region "New Netherland." The same year 
the Dutch built a fort on INIanhattan Island, and another the 
next year, called Fort Orange, on the site of Albany. In 1621 
the Dutch West India company was formed and took possession 
of NcAv Amsterdam and the Netherlands, and in 1626 the terri- 
tory was made a province of Holland. Under its charter the 

( 16 ) 



DISCOVEKY AND OCCUPATION 

company laid claim to the region of the Connecticut valley, and 
made explorations in that locality previous to 1630. Three years 
later the Dutch built a fortification on the bank of the river at 
"Dutch Point" (site of Hartford), and made some feeble at- 
tempts to control the valley and its settlement against the Puritan 
colonists of New England. For fifteen years the Dutch remained 
at peace Avith the Indians, but the unwise action of Governor 
Kieft provoked hostilities that continued with little cessation 
during the remainder of the Dutch dominion. 

^Meanwhile, in 1607, the English had made their first perma- 
nent settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, and in 1620 had planted 
their historic colony at Plymouth Rock.^ These two colonies 
became the successful rivals of all others in that strife which 
finally left them masters of the entire country. 

On the discoveries and colonizations thus briefly noted, three 
great European powers based claims to at least a part of the 
territory embraced in the state of jNIassachusetts ; first, England, 
by reason of the discovery of John Cabot, who sailed under a 
commission from Henry VII, and in 1497 reached the sterile 
coast of Labrador, also that made in the following year by his son 
Sebastian, Avho explored the same coast from New Foundland to 
Florida, claiming territory eleven degrees in width and extend- 
ing westward indefinitely; second, France, which from the dis- 
coveries of Verrazzani claimed a portion of the Atlantic coast, 
and also (under the title of New France) an almost boundless 
region westward; and third, Holland, which based on Hudson's 
discoveries a claim to the entire country from Cape Cod to the 
southern shore of Delaware Bay. (If we picture a triangle with 
angles at Montreal, New York and Plymouth, the central point 
of the figure thus formed will be found in the region of the Con- 
necticut valley in ^Massachusetts, for the possession of which these 
powers Avere contending.) 

'In 1620 James I. of England, issued a charter to the Duke of Lenox, Mar- 
quis of Bucliingham. and others, styling them the "Grand Council of Plymouth for 
planting and governing New England in America." This patent granted to them 
the territory between the 40th and 4Sth degrees of north latitude. The territory 
granted, which had previously been called North Virginia, now received the name 
of New England, by royal authority. From this patent were derived all the sub- 
sequent grants of the several parts of the territory. — Willard. 



2-1 



( 17 ) 



OVE COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

The Dutch became the temporary occupants of a portion of 
the region under consideration, but their dominion was of brief 
duration. Indian hostilities were provoked through the unwise 
policy of Governor Kieft, whose official career was continued 
about ten years, he being superseded by Peter Stuyvesant in 
1649. His equitable policy harmonized the Indians so far as 
the Dutch themselves were concerned, but his subordinates occa- 
sionally attempted to incite the Connecticut Indians against the 
New England colonists and their western plantations, but with- 
out serious effect. The Dutch had become thrifty by trading 
guns and rum to the Indians in exchange for furs, and thus the 
latter were supplied with doubly destructive weapons. 

However, in March, 1664, Charles II, of England, conveyed 
to his brother James, duke of York, all the country from the 
River St. Croix to the Kennebec in j\Iaine, together with all the 
land from the west bank of the Connecticut river to the east side 
of Delaware bay. The duke sent an English squadron to secui-e 
the gift, and in September of the same year Governor Stuyvesant 
capitulated, being constrained to that course by the Dutch col- 
onists, who preferred peace with the same privileges accorded to 
the English settlers rather than a prolonged and probably fruit- 
less contest. The English changed the name of New Amsterdam 
to New York, and thus ended the Dutch dominion in America. 

For many years previous to the overthrow of the Dutch in 
America, and for nearly a century afterward, the English and 
French were rival powers, each struggling for the mastery on 
both sides of the Atlantic ; and with each succeeding outbreak of 
war in the mother countries there were rencAved hostilities in 
their American colonies. King William's war, about the close 
of the seventeenth century, was the first of these events that 
seriously involved the New England plantations. In 1702, on 
the accession of Anne to the throne as successor to King AVilliam, 
what was known as Queen Anne's war was soon begun; and it 
was continued until the treaty of Utrecht, April 11, 1713. AVhile 
the powers were nominally at peace for many years afterward, 
each was constantly strengthening its possessions and using every 
endeavor to establish an alliance with the Indians, all prepara- 

( 18 ) 



DISCOVERY AND OCCUPATION 

tory to the final struggle, which must come in order to settle the 
question of supremacy on this side of the Atlantic. Fortunately 
for the united colonies of New England, they had by this time 
effectually quieted the Indians within their own jurisdiction, and 
w^hen at length the contest was begun they had only to contend 
against the French and the Canadian Indians. 

In March, 1744, war again was declared between Great 
Britain and France, and the New York and New England colonies 
united in an expedition against the French stronghold of Louis- 
burg, in Canada, which capitulated in the following year. The 
contest was continued until 1748, when the ineffectual treaty of 
Aix-la-Chapelle temporarily put an end to hostilities. In the 
meantime, while nominally at peace, both sides were preparing 
for a renewal of the contest. At the suggestion of Massachusetts 
delegates to a convention at Albany, a plan for a union of all the 
English colonies in America was taken into consideration. The 
suggestion was favorably received and the fertile brain of Benja- 
min Franklin prepared the plan that finally was adopted. It 
was the forerunner of our federal constitution ; but the colonial 
assemblies rejected it, deeming that it encroached on their liber- 
ties, while the home government rejected it on the ground that 
it granted too much power to the people of the colonies. 

The concluding war between Great Britain and Prance, so 
far as related to their American colonies, was begun in 1756 and 
continued with great vigor until the fall of Quebec in September, 
1759, although a formal peace was not established until 1763, 
when, on February 10, the treaty of Paris was signed, whereby 
France ceded to Great Britain all her possessions in Canada. 



( 19 ) 



CHAPTER III 
THE INDIANS 

French and Jesuit Influence among the Indians— The New Eng- 
land Missionaries— Location and ProhaUe Origin of the Neiv 
England Indian Tribes— The Connecticut Biver Indians— 
Their Habits and Characteristics— Efforts to EstaUish Educa- 
tion and Christianity among the Tribes— Butch Settlers sell 
Tit em Guns and Rum. 

When Champlain opened the way for the French dominion 
in America the task of planting Christianity among the Indians 
was assigned to the Jesuits (a name derived from the Society of 
Jesus, founded by Ignatius Loyola, A. D. 1539), but while their 
primary object was to spread the gospel, their secondary and 
hardly less important purpose was to extend the dominion of 
France. In 1629 an English fleet sailed up the St. Lawrence 
river and captured Quebec, but upon the conclusion of a treaty of 
Peace in 1636, Canada was restored to King Louis. In less than 
three years from that time no less than fifteen Jesuit missionaries 
were laboring among the Indians in the region of the provinces of 
Massachusetts and New York, and in extending their line of 
possessions the French established strongholds within the limits 
of the present states of New Hampshire, Vermont and New York, 
and there is evidence tending to show that the Jesuit fathers 
carried their work into the Connecticut valley within the bound- 
aries of this state. 

At length, however, French aggression and Jesuit influence 
became intolerable to the English, especially in New York, and 
about 1700 the colonial legislature of that province passed an 

( 20 ) 



THE INDIANS 

unjustifiable act expelling every Jesuit missionary, on pain of 
death. The act was not fully obeyed, yet it had the effect to 
retard French encroachments in certain localities, while the spir- 
itual welfare of the Indians did not seriously suff"er through the 
absence of a guiding hand. 

In later years the Jesuit fathers were followed by the faith- 
ful New England missionaries, who labored first for the conver- 
sion of savages within their own territory, and afterward carried 
their work into the country of the Iroquois and the Delawares. 
Among these workers were such noble men^ as Henry Barclay, 
John Ogilvie, Timothy "VVoodbridge, Gideon Hawley, Eleazer 
Wheelock, Samuel Kirkland, Bishop Hobart, Eleazer AYilliams, 
Talbot, Spencer, Dan Barnes (Methodist), and others of less 
distinction, all of whom labored faithfully but with varied suc- 
cess for the conversion of the Indians. All, however, were forced 
to admit that their efforts as a whole were unsatisfactory and dis- 
couraging; and even subsequent and more systematic attempts 
to establish Christianity and education among the Indians, while 
yielding results perhaps sufficient to justify their prosecution, 
have constantly met with the most discouraging obstacles. 

The Indians of the Connecticut valley, while perhaps more 
peaceful than their western neighbors, the Iroquois, or their 
Canadian ancestors— for they undoubtedly were of Algonquin 
or Huron ancestry— possessed substantially the same native 
traits and characteristics, and there is little indication that any 
of them were ever inclined to improve upon the condition in 
which they were found by the Europeans. They were chiefly 
attached to their warrior and hunter life, and devoted nearly all 
their energies to the lower forms of gratification and enjoyment. 
Their dwellings, even among the more stationary tribes, were 
rude, their food coarse and poor, and their domestic habits and 
surroundings unclean and barbarous. Their dress was ordina- 
rily the skins of animals until the advent of the whites, and was 
primitive in character. Their women Avere degraded into mere 

ijohn Eliot and Thomas Hooker were early missionary workers among the 
Indian tribes, and Eliot, who was known as the "Apostle to the Indians." trans- 
lated the Bible into their language. Their missionary work was contemporary 
with that of the Jesuits. 

( 31 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

beasts of burden, and -while they believed in a Supreme being, 
they were powerfully swayed by superstition, incantations, med- 
icine men, dreams and visions, and their feasts were exhibitions 
of debauchery and gluttony. 

Such, according to the writer's sincere belief, are some of the 
more prominent characteristics of the race encountered by the 
Puritan fathers of New England when they landed on the shores 
of Cape Cod and sought to establish for themselves a home in a 
new and unknown land. Although more peaceful than most of 
the tribes of other localities, the Indians of the Atlantic coast in 
New England were not less fierce when aroused to anger or when 
inspired to deeds of savagery through wantonness and instinctive 
hatred of the pale-faced race. Champlain first welcomed the 
Indians with a volley of bullets, a policy that was pursued by 
nearly all his civilized successors. It is not denied that the 
Indians possessed redeeming characteristics, but they were so 
strongly dominated by their barbarous manner of life and savage 
traits that years of faithful missionary labor among them was 
productive of little real benefit. 

And whatever is true of any one nation of Indians in this 
respect is true of nearly all others. To the English the Mohi- 
cans were known as a peaceful, friendly and domestic people, 
yet nearly all early efforts for their conversion to Christianity 
were unsatisfactory. No strong controlling influence for good 
was obtained among any of the tribes previous to the time of Sir 
"William Johnson (the first superiatendent of Indian affairs in 
America), and even then it is doubtful whether they were not 
moved more by the power of purchase than by love of right. 

Regarding the origin of the New England Indians, no relia- 
ble authority expresses a positive opinion. Unlike the Iroquois 
of New York, or the Dela wares of Pennsylvania and the south, 
the savages living east of the Hudson had no ancestral traditions, 
yet some writers are inclined to the belief that the tribes scat- 
tered along the coast were of Delaware or Lenni Lenape (mean- 
ing Original People) origin, and that they separated from the 
parent body and crossed over the river into the country to the 
eastward previous to the formation of the Iroquois league, or the 

( 22 ) 



THE INDIANS 

confederacy known in history as the Five Nations. The Iroquois 
and the Lenni Lenapes were for centuries avowed enemies, and 
in the early part of the seventeenth century the former made 
war upon and subjugated the latter, and ever afterward were 
their acknowledged masters; but it does not appear that the 
vengeful Iroquois ever waged war against the tribes along the 
New England coast or sought to bring them into subjection. Nor 
were they in any respect considered allies of the Iroquois, but 
appear to have been regarded as a neutral people, who warred 
only among themselves previous to the advent of the whites. 

When the region comprising New England Avas first explored 
by the colonists the Indian tribes were located and known about 
as follows: In the lower Housatonic country Avere the Pedunks, 
while to the northward, between the Housatonic mountains and 
the Berkshire hills, dwelt the Stockbridge Indians, so-called, but 
presumably an offshoot from the most eastern body of the Mo- 
haAvks, although their real origin, like that of the Pedunks, is 
quite in doubt, notAvithstanding the opinions of various Avriters. 
The Pequots (sometimes called Pequods) occupied the lower 
Connecticut valley and the territory immediately eastAvard. In 
Rhode Island Avere the Narragansetts, one of the most numerous 
and untamable tribes in the Ncav England region, Avhile north of 
them and in the order named Avere the Pokanockets, the Nip- 
mucks, the Massachusetts and the PaAvtuckets. AA^ith the excep- 
tion of the Pedunks, the Stockbridges and the Nipmucks, the 
tribes inhabiting the coast Avere claimed to be of Lenni Lenape 
descent, Avhile those of Ncav Hampshire and Maine undoubtedly 
Avere of Abenakis, or Abenaquie, origin, and whose ancestors 
came from the loAver St. Lawrence regions of Canada. The 
Mohicans, famed in song and story, one of the exceptionally 
friendly tribes, dwelt, during the latter part of the seventeenth 
century, in northern Connecticut, east of the river of that name. 
The Connecticut river Indians, especially those Avho inhab- 
ited the valley north of the country of the Pequots, probably 
Avere of Algonquin (Canadian) ancestry, but the time of their 
emigration from their northern possessions cannot noAV be deter- 
mined. Their habits and customs, Avhile not Avholly unlike those 

( 23 ) 



01 R COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

who occupied other portions of New England, were much the 
same as of the Canadian Indians, yet by long association and 
intermarriages with the dusky inhabitants of the coast region 
they adopted the mode of life of the latter. In the early wars 
with the colonists they tied toward the Canadas when pursued, 
and they likewise joined with the Canadian Indians when the 
latter invaded the frontier settlements of the whites. They 
never Avere allies of the Mohawks, as some authorities have stated, 
but occasionally were visited with the vengeance of the latter, 
who were for centuries at deadly enmity with the Algonquins 
and their allies. 

Of the tribes in the valley none were numerically strong, 
and they generally took names suited to the locality in which 
they lived. Their dialect was the same and to the whites they 
were known as separate bands of the same nation. On the site 
of Springfield there were the Agawams, whose tribal name is 
preserved in a flourishing town : at AYestfield, in a region con- 
tiguous to the river valley, were the Woronokes : at Northampton 
and Hadley were the Nonotucks ; at Deerfield were the Pocom- 
tucks ; at Northfield were the Squakheags ; at Brookfield, east of 
the valley proper, were the Quaboags ; at Windsor were the 
Massacoes, and at Charlestown were the Mishawams. 

These Indians at best were a lawless, treacherous and un- 
trustworthy horde, and never during all their long intercourse 
with the whites did they secure the absolute confidence of the 
latter. The Puritans and their immediate followers treated 
them with the greatest consideration, and in the treaties for the 
purchase of their lands they were satisfied with the compensation 
offered ; and in many cases where lands were acquired from them 
the actual consideration frequently was more than doubled by 
subsequent gifts. 

As a matter of fact the natives regarded the land as of little 
value to themselves and readily parted with their title for a few 
strings of wampum, a number of hatchets and an assortment of 
blankets, trinkets and other notions that most struck the savage 
fancy. In no case were they deceived into parting with their 
possessions, and no unfair means were resorted to by the colonists 

( 24 ) 



THE INDIANS 

to accomplish that end. The period of treachery and deceit on 
the part of the whites in extinguishing- Indian titles was much 
later than that of which we write, and in the history of the early 
settlement in the Connecticut valley the much vaunted claim, put 
forth by some chroniclers of contemporary events, that "little 
importance should be attached to treaties in which the untutored 
savages were pitted again intelligent Europeans," is of no effect, 
as it had no foundation in fact. In the Massachusetts province 
"justice and the faith and restraints of treaties" were not 
"subordinate to the lusts of power and expediency." 

William Pynchon and his followers, who came into the Con- 
necticut valley in 1636 and founded a plantation on the site of 
Springfield, purchased land from the Agawams, and in addition 
to the price paid they clothed, fed and warmed the natives, and 
sought by every means to establish friendly relations with them : 
but at the same time they prudently constructed a fort of suffi- 
cient strength to assure a safe refuge for all the settlers within 
the plantation ; and in later years, when the settlement had in- 
creased in numbers, two other stockade fortresses were added as 
a means of still further security against Indian attacks. Subse- 
quent events proved the wisdom of this precaution, for the settle- 
ment at Springfield was attacked, the buildings plundered and 
burned, the lands laid waste, and a ruthless slaughter of the in- 
habitants was onlj' prevented by the defensive strength of Fort 
Pynchon. And when plantations were extended up and down 
the valley and into the interior regions east and west of the river, 
the pioneers first provided a strong stockade fort for the common 
protection of their families. In course of time each of these 
settlements was attacked and suffered loss of life and property 
at the hands of the savages. These attacks, while perhaps not 
provoked by the Connecticut river Indians, were nevertheless 
participated in by them, and their professed friendship for the 
whites counted for nothing. 

In justice, however, to the Indian tribes of the Connecticut 
valley it may be said that for many years they maintained friend- 
ly relations with the whites and that frequently they lent succor 
to distressed settlements ; and occasions are not wanting in which 

( 25 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

some of the friendly tribes took up arms and fought battles as 
allies of the colonists against a dusky foe. 

After the advent of the white man the highest aim of the 
Indian was the ownership of a gun and ammunition, and a free 
license to indulge his appetite for liciuor. The English colonists 
used every possible means to keep these instruments of death 
from the natives, and the general court enacted stringent laws to 
prevent the traffic; and while these laws were generally obeyed 
they were occasionally violated even in the New England colonies. 
The Dutch in the Netherlands became rich in trading guns and 
gin to the Indians in exchange for furs, and previous to the over- 
throw of their power in America, they furnished these double 
weapons of destruction to the Connecticut Indians for the very 
purpose of inciting the latter against the New Englanders. It 
was, hoAvever, a pernicious practice, steadily adhered to, and 
resulted disastrously to the American colonists. The Indian 
loved liquor next to life itself, and in a drunken condition he 
knew no restraint whatever. But be it said to the enduring 
honor of the English colonists that they opposed this unholy 
traffic with every known means of legislation, severe penalties 
and moral influence. 

Having thus referred at some length in preceding chapters 
to the contests of European nations for supremacy in America, 
and also to the tribal names, location and something of the life 
and traits of the Indians who were the original possessors of the 
territory in New England, it is proper that the succeeding chap- 
ter be devoted to a brief narrative of the events of planting col- 
onies and extending settlements in the region. 



( 26 ) 



CHAPTER IV 

COLONIZATION AND SETTLEMENT 

English Colonization and Settlement in America— The Plymouth 
and London Companies — Landing of the Pilgrims — Distress 
in the Colony — Massasoit's Generosity — Accessio7is to the Col- 
ony—Plantations Founded in the Connecticut Valley— The 
Colony at Agawam— Springfield Founded— Independent Gov- 
ernment for Connecticut River Plantations — Springfield re- 
turns to Massachusetts Jurisdiction — Four Counties Incorpor- 
ated—Springfield not Included. 

In 1606, James I, of England, divided his possessions in 
America, between degrees 34 and 45, north latitude, into two 
parts and granted them, the south part to the London company, 
and the north part to the Plymouth company, the territory of the 
latter extending from the 38th to the 45th parallel, and from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. In the same year the Plymouth 
company fitted out a vessel for the purpose of sending a party to 
colonize their lands, hut the ship fell into the hands of the Span- 
iards who then were at war with England. 

In 1607 the London company made a successful attempt at 
founding a colony in America. A fleet of three ships with one 
hundred and five men was sent to the country and established a 
permanent settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. In the same year 
the Plymouth company sent Admir-al Gilbert with a party of one 
hundred planters, under instructions to establish a colony within 
the boundaries of the com])any's gi-ant, to make improvements 
and prepare the way for future colonization and settlement of the 
region. This party touched the coast of Maine near the mouth 

( 27 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

of the Kennebec, where forty-five men were landed and began 
the construction of a storehouse. Captain George Popham was 
their president, or commander, and directed the work of improve- 
ment. The others, however, soon became discouraged, aban- 
doned the scheme and returned to England. Those who re- 
mained suffered greatly from the severities of the winter, and, to 
add to their misfortunes, the storehouse was destroyed by fire, 
their president died, and early in the next year the survivors re- 
turned to England. Thus ended the first attempt to found a 
colony in New England, and no further effort in the same direc- 
tion was made for a period of twelve years. 

In 1602 a little band of dissenters from the tenets and exac- 
tions of the church of Rome left their homes in the south part of 
England and took up an abode in Leyden, where, under the lead- 
ership of John Robinson, they dwelt and worshipped after their 
own ideas of duty and christian humilit}^ In England they had 
suffered all manner of religious persecution, and had exiled 
themselves from it, but in Holland they found themselves and 
their youth exposed to unwholesome and contaminating moral 
influences hardly less dangerous than those from which they pre- 
viously had hoped to escape. They, therefore, resolved to flee 
from Europe and establish a new home in America, where they 
might worship and live in the light of their own religious convic- 
tions. The resolution to depart was adopted in 1619, and on 
September 6, 1620, a band of one hundred devout Puritans set 
sail from Southampton in the Mayflower, bound for the English 
settlement in Virginia, in the territory of the London company. 

However, through the ignorance or treachery^ (probably the 

'According to Hutchinson's narrative, tlie Dutcli endeavored to persuade the 
Pilgrims to join the West India colony at New Amsterdam, but they preferred to 
settle in Virginia, and made application for a land patent in that region, which 
was refused. In order to assure the London company that they were able to 
found and maintain their colony the Pilgrims oflfered the declaration "that they 
were well weaned from the delicate milk of the mother country, and enured to the 
difficulties of a strange land : that they were knit together in a strict and sacred 
bond, by virtue of which they held themselves bound to take good care of each 
other, and of the whole ; that it was not with them as with other men, whom 
small things could discourage, or small discontents cause to wish themselves 
home again." Hutchinson also says the Pilgrims intended to land near the 
month of the Hudson river, but that the Dutch had bribed their pilot, who car- 
ried them much farther north. 

( 38 ) 



COLON IZ ATI ox AXD SETTLEMENT 

latter) of the master of the vessel, on November 9, of the same 
year, the Puritans (Pilgrims, they were more aptly called, having 
made the pilgrimage from England to Holland and thence to 
America) found themselves at anchor off the bleak and barren 
coast of Cape Cod, within the territory of the Plymouth company 
and hundreds of miles from the English settlement in Virginia, 
where they had hoped to land. 

Disappointed, but not Avholly disheartened, the Pilgrims 
determined to land and brave the severities of approaching win- 
ter in the desolate region, surrounded with a race of savages 
Avhose strength and temper they knew not. Before leaving the 
ship they entered into a solemn compact to combine themselves 
together in a civil body politic, "for our better ordering and 
preservation ; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame 
such just laws, ordinances, constitutions and offices as from time 
to time shall be most meet and convenient for the general good of 
the colony ; unto which we promise all due submission and obe- 
dience. ' ' 

It was a simple yet effective contract and was steadfastly 
observed by all the Pilgrim fathers, also by many of their Puri- 
tan followers, and was the cornerstone of the constitution of the 
commonwealth of Massachusetts in later years. John Carver 
was chosen governor of the colony, and on November 21, the 
Pilgrims left their ship and knelt on Plymouth Rock. They 
named the place New Plymouth, in allusion to Plymouth, in Eng- 
land. 

During the winter which followed the landing of the Pil- 
grims the members of the brave band suffered untold hardships 
from the severit}^ of weather, lack of proper clothing and food, 
from sickness and death. Their leader and governor, John Carver, 
was one of fifty-five who died from sickness and exposure ; and 
when in distress and almost utter starvation the survivors were 
reduced to the greatest extremity, their sufferings were unex- 
pectedly relieved by the generous assistance of Massasoit, sachem 
of the Pokanokets, or AYampanoags, who gave them food and 
succor, and who indeed proved as steadfast in his friendship as 
his son, King Philip, in later years proved merciless and devilish 
in his enmity. 

( 29 ) 



01 R COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Notwithstanding the vicissitudes which attended the first 
year of life in the Plymouth colony, frequent accessions were 
made to the number of settlers, and in 1622, upon the ari-ival of 
the half hundred and more men brought from England by Mr. 
Weston, the London merchant, the latter soon branched out from 
the parent colony and founded a plantation at Weymouth. This 
party, from all historical accounts, was less conscientious than 
many of its predecessors, and soon became involved in a contro- 
versy with the Indians which threatened the safety of all the New 
England colonists of whatever creed. It was the first breach of 
faith and propriety on the part of the New Englanders, and was 
inexcusable, even on the ground of dire necessity. 

In 1624 a settlement Avas made at Cape Ann, and in 1628 a 
colony of more than two hundred persons was planted at Salem, 
where also the second church in New England was established. 
From this time settlement increased rapidly, and within the next 
two years colonies were founded at Charlestown, Dorchester, 
Roxbury and Boston. In 1629 the government of the Plymouth 
colony, w^hicli previously had been administered in England, 
was, through the grace- of his majesty, King Charles, and the 
address of John AVinthrop, transferred to New England. An 
election of officers was ordered, and in 1630 Governor Winthrop 
and his deputy, Thomas Dudley (chosen to succeed John Hum- 
frey, the original deputy), came over from England in a numer- 
ous fleet. The first general court was assembled in Boston, where 
the freemen attended in person. They builded better than they 
knew, and in that informal attempt to establish a government 
for a scattered handful of colonists, they in fact laid the found- 
ation for one of the most stable and enlightened systems of state 
government known to the history of America. 

The transfer of the seat of government of the New England 
colonies had the effect to increase the tide of emigration from the 
mother country to such an extent that the croA^Ti began to devise 
measures to prevent further loss of home population, but without 
material results. Almost every month witnessed the arrival of 
fresh shiploads of immigrants, while still other vessels brought 
cattle and merchandise. At length the settled localities along 

( 30 ) 



COLONIZATION AND SETTLEMENT 

the coast began to show evidence of overcrowding, and many of 
the more determined planters turned their faces toward the 
interior portions of the country, in the direction of the river 
■"Quoneticut" (Long River), as known to the Indians who first 
•described that fertile region to the whites. 

Having thus laid the foundation for civilized white settle- 
ment in the Connecticut valley, it can hardly be considered with- 
in the scope of our present work to refer at greater length to the 
outspreading of the home colonies in the north and south regions 
of New England, or to the founding of plantations that led to 
the establishment of colonies and the subsequent states of Connec- 
ticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine, or to the various 
■causes that led to the division of the mother colonies and the form- 
ation of new ones ; but rather we may more properly direct atten- 
tion to the events which led to the establishment of plantations in 
the Connecticut valley, to the creation of a new county under the 
name of Hampshire, to the settlement and civil organization of 
that jurisdiction, and to the trials and hardships and ultimate 
successes of the inhabitants within its boundaries. 

According to the opinion of the best chroniclers of New 
England history, the vast region of country known as the 
Connecticut valley in IMassachusetts and Connecticut became 
known to the white settlers of the eastern plantations about the 
year 1631, through information furnished them l)y the Indians, 
Avho for years had roamed undisturbed throughout the country 
east of the Hudson river. The Dutch, however, were first in the 
locality, according to reliable authority, about 1614, five years 
after their colony had been established on ]\Ianhattan Island. 
They were traders, buying from the natives large quantities of 
furs, and as their possessions, as claimed under Hudson's dis- 
coveries, extended east to Cape Cod, it was only natural that they 
should barter Avith the inhabitants of the valley, where beaver 
were known to abound. Yet the Dutch made no attempt to 
occupy the land previous to the advent of the English in that 
locality, information of which was conveyed to them by the 
Indians, who had more regard for them than for the English, as 
the former supplied them with guns and rum while the latter 

( 31 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

could not do so under penalty of the rigid laws of the general 
court. 

In the latter part of 1633 two settlers of the Dorchester 
colony visited the Connecticut valley, and found one of the 
grandest regions that ever awaited the approach of civilization ; 
with climate and soil diversified by the most remote extremes, a 
wilderness of beauty and fertility ready to be transformed into a 
productive agricultural settlement. 

The Dorchester explorers, the advance guard of civilization 
in the valley, were hospitably received by the Indians in their 
village. On the cleared flat lands bordering on the river were 
plenty of evidences of cultivation, and growing crops of corn 
and hemp were found in the vicinity. The river was well 
stocked with fish of large size and excellent quality, and the 
surrounding forests abounded in valuable game and fur-bearing 
animals. 

In the same year a party from the Plymouth colony explored 
the country between their plantation and the Connecticut, touch- 
ing the latter where now stands Windsor. Here William Holmes, 
a trader, built a cabin and inclosed it within a stockade, and then 
began traffic with the natives. In the same year and just before 
the visit of the Plymouth party, the Dutch from the Netherlands 
constructed a rude earthworks at the place called "Dutch Point" 
(now Hartford), for the ostensible purpose of disputing the right 
of the New Englanders in the vicinity, or their right to passage 
up and down the river. But the opposition of the Dutch did 
not prove a serious menace to the peace and safety of the settlers 
from the eastern colonies, and was soon withdrawn. 

In 1634 many of the planters in Ncav England took steps 
toward founding new settlements in the Connecticut valley, and 
to that end sent out prospecting parties to explore the region, 
select favorable sites and negotiate terms of purchase with the 
Indians. In the meantime those who thus proposed to branch out 
from the parent colonies presented their petitions to the general 
court for permission to remove. The only point in doubt in the 
minds of the governing authorities was whether the proposed new 
region of settlement was within the jurisdiction of ^Massachusetts. 

( 32 ) 



COLONIZATION AND SETTLEMENT 

Bay, and when consent was finally given the settlers were espe- 
cially enjoined not to remove beyond the boundaries or jurisdic- 
tion of the genera] court. 

In 1635, the request of the petitioners having been granted, 
the tide of emigration set westward, and in the same year several 
new plantations were founded in the valley. The Dorchester 
people settled at Windsor, the Watertown people at Wethers- 
field, the Cambridge people at Hartford, and the Roxbury people 
at Agawam, or, by their removal soon afterward to the east side 
of the river, at Springfield. It is with the latter colony and its 
s^^bseq^^ent branches and offshoots in the region now called 
Hampden county that we have particularly to deal in this work. 

Within fifteen years after the landing of the Pilgrims no 
less than fourteen permanent colonies had been founded in the 
province of Massachusetts Bay, while nearly as many more were 
scattered throughout the territory now comprising the states of 
New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island and Connecticut. 

In 1634 a number of men in authority and several planters 
of the Roxbury colony determined to found a new settlement on 
the banks of the Connecticut river, and preparatory to that end, 
according to the opinion of reliable writers, AVilliam Pynchon 
(one of the original founders of Roxbury and the founder in fact 
of Springfield), Henry Smith, son-in-law of Pynchon, and Jehu 
Burr, visited the region and made a selection of lands upon Avhicli 
to begin improvements. In the following year John Cable and 
John Woodrui^ were sent to the place and erected a. house on the 
west side of the Connecticut, south of AgaAvam river, and in the 
town which now bears the latter name. Afterward, however, 
having been informed by the Indians that the lands in the 
"Agawam meadow" were subject to overflow from the river, the 
site of the plantation was changed to the east side of the Con- 
necticut, Avhere a new house was erected. 

In the early spring of 1636, ]Mr. Pynchon and his associates 
sent their goods and effects in Governor Winthrop's vessel, the 
"Blessing of the Bay," Avhich sailed from Boston, April 26, to 
the mouth of the Connecticut river, and thence up that stream to 
the site of the proposed plantation. The pioneers themselves set 

3-1 ( 33 ) 



Ol'R COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE 

out on foot and early in ]\Iay reached their destination. On the 
14th of that month they entered into an agreement regarding the 
disposition and allotment of the land and their future conduct 
in the plantation. The signers of the compact were William 
Pynchon, Nath. INIitchell Henry Smith, Jehu Burr, William 
Blake, Edmund Wood, Thomas Ufford and John Clark. On 
July 15, a treaty of purchase was made with the Indians, the 
conveyance bearing the names or symbols of thirteen chiefs and 
sachems. The grantees named were William Pynchon, Henry 
Smith and Jehu Burr and their associates. 

Thus was founded the first permanent white settlement in 
the Connecticut valley in Massachusetts, or in old Hampshire 
county, an event antedating the incorporation of the county itself 
by sixteen years, and antedating the creation of Hampden county 
by more than a century and three-fourths. But this was only the 
beginning of development and settlement in the region, for not- 
withstanding the serious Indian troubles which began the very 
next year, a steady stream of settlers was pouring into the 
valley, and the plantation at Springfield soon began to enlarge 
and extend into other localities, until at length it became territori- 
ally almost a principality. Under the authority of the general 
court, Mr. Pynchon was clothed with judicial powers, and a mag- 
istrate's court was maintained in the plantation until the incor- 
poration of Hampshire county in 1662, when a more formal 
system of local government was established. 

As a matter of fact the general court granted permission to 
plant new colonies in the Connecticut valley only after consider- 
able hesitation, as the region in question then was supposed to be 
beyond the jurisdiction of the INIassaehusetts Bay province. On 
this point Mr. Hutchinson's history furnishes an interesting 
statement of conditions of settlement in the valley, and from his 
narrative we quote as follows : 

"This year also [1641] the plantation at Springfield, upon 
the Connecticut river, returned to the jurisdiction of the Massa- 
chusetts. In the year 1636, as has been observed, the towns or 
settlements on Connecticut river began. The inhabitants of the 
towns of Roxbury, Dorchester, Cambridge and AVatertown, in 

( 34 ) 



COLOXlZATIOy AND SETTLEMEXT 

the Massachusetts, laid the foundation of the colony of Connecti- 
cut. Mv. William Pynchon, being the principal person among 
those from Roxbury who had pitched upon a place higher up the 
river than the rest, called by the Indians Agawam. he changed 
the name to Springfield. (At first they called the new settle- 
ments by the names of the towns they had left in the Bay.) His 
mansion house was at a town of that name in England, near to 
Chelmsford, in Essex. Those from Dorchester pitched upon a 
place below, called by the Indians Mattaneaug or Cushankamaug. 
Mr. Ludlow was the principal person who removed with them. 
Mr. Warham, their minister, and the whole church followed the 
next year. They called their settlement ^Yindsor. The Cam- 
bridge people, with INIr. Hooker and j\Ir. Stone, their ministers. 
and j\Ir. Haynes, who the year before had been governor at their 
head, were seated next below at a place called Suckiang, which 
they changed into Hartford, the place of ]\Ir. Stone's nativity in 
England. ' ' 

"A few miles below there was another tract of interval land 
called by the Indians Pauquiang, which those of Hartford in- 
tended to have included in their settlement ; but a few of the 
Watertown people were too quick for them. They gave it the 
name of "VVethersfield. The commission which they took from 
the Massachusetts Avas of a pretty extraordinary nature. The 
preamble to it acknowledges that the lands which they intended 
to take possession of were without the commonwealth and body 
of the Massachusetts, and that certain noble personages in Eng- 
land, by virtue of a patent, challenged the jurisdiction there ; but 
their minds not being known as to a form of government, and 
there being a necessity that some authority should be established, 
they therefore appointed Roger Ludlow, Esq., William Pynchon. 
Esq., John Steele, William Swaine, Henry Smith, William 
Phelps, William Westwood and Andrew AVarner, with full power 
and authority to hear and determine between party and party, to 
inflict corporal punishment, imprisonment and fines, and to make 
and decree orders for the present as shall be necessary for the 
plantation, relative to trading, planting, building, military disci- 
pline and defensive war, if need require, and to convene the in- 

( 35 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

habitants in general court if it should be thought meet ; the com- 
mission to continue no longer than one year, and to be recalled if 
a form of government could be agreed upon between the noble 
personages, the inhabitants, and the commonwealth of the INIassa- 
chusetts. ' ' 

"There would be no accounting for this stretch of power," 
says ]Mr. Hutchinson, "were it not for a principle at that time 
generally received [accepted], and which upon a question was 
determined some j'ears after by the general court, some of the 
members dissenting, that the oath of fidelity to the commonwealth 
was binding even though the person should no longer reside with- 
in the limits." 

"Notwithstanding this commission, they soon after entered 
into an agreement or combination by virtue of which they called 
themselves a body politic, formed and established by mutual 
consent, and framed such laws and constitutions as they thought 
necessary; the most material point in which they differed from 
the Massachusetts was the not making membership of their 
churches necessary to freedom in the civil government or the 
holding of any offices therein. Upon the petition of Mr. Pynchon 
and others to revive them again, an order passed asserting the 
court's right, and a commission was granted to Mr. Pynchon to 
hold courts there, from whose judgments an appeal lay to the 
court of assistants. ' ' 

Thus it appears that the inhabitants of the Connecticut river 
plantations considered themselves not a part of the jurisdiction 
of the Massachusetts Bay province, but rather an independent 
body politic, created for the purpose of self-government and self- 
defense. This association was known as the ' ' Colony of Connec- 
ticut, " and the plantation at Springfield for several years was 
treated as a part of it, although ]\Ir. Pynchon 's people had no 
desire to separate themselves from the government of Massachu- 
setts.^ This condition prevailed, and was at times the occasion 

^The question whether Agawam. or Springfield, was within the jurisdiction 
of Massachusetts or Connecticut probably was first raised when John Winthrop 
and others built Saybrool? fort at the mouth of the Connecticut and attempted to 
collect toll from all vessels that passed the fort, going up or down the river. 

( 36 ) 



COLOXIZATIOX AND SETTLEMENT 

of spirited controversy, for several years, when existing differ- 
ences were adjusted and the colonies of Plymouth, INIassachusetts, 
Connecticut and New Haven confederated together "for their 
common protection and mutual benefit," under the name of the 
"United Colonies of New England." 

In 1643 the general colony of ]Massachusetts was divided 
into four counties— Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk and Norfolk— each 
having certain towns as its component elements; but in the 
designation of these towns bj^ name no mention was made of 
Springfield, although it was first mentioned as a town and recog- 
nized as a jurisdiction having that character in 1641, the. year of 
the return to Massachusetts authority. It is possible, however, 
from the fact, as Mr. Hutchinson states, that the Connecticut 
river towns first took the names of the mother towns from which 
came their pioneers, and that Springfield may have been regarded 
as a part of Eoxbury, although many arguments may be pre- 
sented to oppose this theory. It is said, however, that the name 
AgaAvam was changed to Springfield at a general meeting of the 
planters held April 14. 1640. 

The Connecticut towns reluctantly submitted to the exactions, fearing that other- 
wise they might be disturbed in their possessions : but the colony at Springfield 
refused to pay. and when the Connecticut authorities attempted to force payment 
the town appealed to the Massachusetts general court for protection. This un- 
doubtedly was the so-called '"Return of Springfield to the Massachusetts. "' As a 
matter of fact Mr. l'ynchon"s planters did not share in the opinion that their 
town was within the jurisdiction of the colony of Connecticut, although the latter 
so believed, and even the Massachusetts general court had doubt on the subject. 
In the belief that the region was within Connecticut, that people purchased 
Woronoco and founded a plantation there, although several of the Springfielders 
were interested in the enterprise. In later years Massachusetts and Connecticut 
became involved in a serious dispute regarding the right of sovereignty over the 
region, but under an order of the general court in 1047. Woronoco. including 
portions of Suffield. Westfield and Southwick. were declared to be a part of the 
town of Springfield, and "liable to pay charges therein." 



( 37 ) 



CHAPTER V 
STRUGGLES WITH THE INDIANS 

Dissensions Amoiig the Colonists— Beginning of Indian Troubles 
— The Pecjuot War—Narragansetts Allied to the English- 
Destruction of the Pequots—An Era of Peace and Prosperity 
—Militia Companies Formed in the Valley— Construction of 
Fortified Houses— Fort Pynchon— Events Preceding King 
Philip's War— The Outhreak-Nipjnuck Treachery at Brook- 
field— The War in the Connecticut Valley— Burning of Spring- 
field- W est field Ttvice Attacked— The Affair at Longmeadow 
—Decisive Action hy the Colonies— Indians Driven from the 
Valley— Death of King Philip— End of the War. 

The year 1636 was doubly eventful in the history of iJie New 
England colonies. Strifes and dissensions of a religious char- 
acter disturbed the peace and well being of the colonists and led 
to divisions of sentiment in the settled plantations and the estab- 
lishment of new ones by the dissenters. No longer did the peo- 
ple feel themselves bound by the strict rules and observances of 
the Pilgrim fathers and their equally zealous Puritan followers, 
but framing new laws for civil and religious government among 
themselves, they withdrew from the parent bodies and estab- 
lished plantations in other localities. Although the Connecti- 
cut river plantations were established in this year, their settlers 
were not moved by the considerations mentioned, yet in those 
colonies church membership was not a condition precedent to the 
full privileges of citizenship— suffrage and eligibility to public 
office. Indeed, the little independent body of colonists who 
dared brave the dangers and hardships of life in the Connecticut 

( 38 ) 



STRUGGLES WITH THE INDIANS 

valley Avere peculiarly exempted from the disturbing influences 
that threatened the peace of* the eastern plantations, yet they 
were engaged in a struggle not less important to themselves and 
to the future Avelfare of the United Colonies— a struggle to plant 
and maintain civil government on the western frontier of New 
England, in a region inhabited by various Indian tribes, whose 
professions of peace were accepted with suspicion and a loaded 
weapon within convenient reach. 

In addition to the difit'erences which led to a division of the 
eastern colonies and the consequent weakening of their defensive 
strength during the year, the inhabitants found just cause for 
still greater alarm in the hostile attitude of the Pequot Indians, 
whose domain in the southeastern part of Connecticut had not 
then been invaded by the omvard march of civilized settlement; 
nevertheless, prowling bands of the tribe secretly attacked de- 
fenseless localities, intercepted traders and travellers by land and 
by water and ruthlessly put to the tomahawk whomsoever of the 
whites that came in their way: and none were spared, neither men, 
women nor children.^ On account of the disturbances within 
their colonies the whites were powerless to send an expedition 
against the Pequots in 1636, but preparations were made for a 
combined colonial campaign in the following year. 

The Pequots were a numerous, powerful tribe, and under 
Sassacus, their chief, many atrocities were to be laid at their 
door. Their warriors were divided between two palisaded 
strongholds, and each sheltered and abetted the murdering bands 
of the other. For years they were the avowed enemies of the 
Narragansetts, yet in their mad frenzy to exterminate the whites, 
they proposed an alliance with that people. The offer was re- 
fused, and true to their enmity, the Narragansetts sent a deputa- 
tion to the Massachusetts colony and made an alliance with the 
English against the Pequots ; and while they scrupulously ob- 
served all the provisions of the treaty until after the destruction 
of the Pequots, they afterward, through jealousy alone, became 

'In the spring of 1637 a party of Tequots invaded the Connecticut valley in 
the vicinity of Wethersfield, killed nine men and carried two women into cap- 
tivity. 

( 39 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

insolent and attempted to provoke hostilities with the whites. 
Their time, in turn, came in due season, and they too were made 
to feel the vengeance of the American colonist. 

In 1637 a campaign of destruction was planned against the 
Pequots, in which the jNIassachusetts, Plymouth and Connecticut 
colonies agreed to send a combined force against the offending 
savages, and in which they were promised the aid of the Narra- 
gansetts and some of the more friendly Connecticut river tribes. 
Through some miscalculation the JNIassachusetts men were tardy 
in their movements, and Captain Mason, of the Connecticut 
troops, fearing if he delayed that his uncertain Indian allies 
might attribute his action to cowardice, bravely pushed forward 
with less than one hundred men and crushed the Pequots in their 
stronghold on the Mystic river, killing, as some accounts say, 
between five hundred and six hundred of them, with a loss of 
but two of his own men. Most of his Narragansett allies became 
frightened and fled, but such as remained hung about the place 
and slaughtered the few Pequots who escaped Mason's deadly 
assault. Following up this victory, the English next assaulted 
the other Pequot fortress with like result, and so completely were 
the Indians beaten that of those who escaped few would ever 
afterward admit Pequot relationship. 

This was the first actual conflict between the New England 
colonists and the Indians, and it was a visitation of retributive 
justice that had a salutary eft'ect upon the other tribes of the 
region ; and many years passed before the colonists were again 
called upon to inflict similar punishment in other localities. 
Some writers, who knew little of the provocation that called for 
the extermination of the Pequots, and still less of the true In- 
dian character, charged the colonists with unwarranted cruelty 
during the war: but with the colonists it was simply a question 
whether they and their families should be put to the knife and 
the tomahawk, or Avhether the Indians should first feel the weight 
of the white man's strength in war. On either side it was bound 
to be a war of extermination. The Pequots had suffered no 
affront at the hands of the whites, nor had their lands been taken 
without their consent and just consideration paid. A spirit of 

( 40 ) 



STRUGGLES WITH THE INDIANS 

malice and mere wantonness prompted hostilities on their part, 
and their punishment was as just as it was severe. 

In the Pequot war a levy was made for seven men from the 
Agawam plantation to take part in the campaign, but from all 
.accounts obtainalile they were not furnished, chiefly from the 
fact that the settlement could not safely provide that number. 
The plantation was also assessed 86 pounds, 16 shillings, for the 
expenses of the expedition, which was paid, although at consid- 
erable sacrifice on the part of some of the planters. In Con- 
necticut a winter of severe suffering followed the war, and Cap- 
tain Mason, the hero of the campaign, visited the Indian settle- 
ments in the vicinit}^ of Pocomtuck (Deerfield) and purchased 
from the natives fifty canoe loads of corn for the relief of the 
people of his colony. Mr. Pynchon had been asked to provide 
this relief from his plantation, but the little colony itself was in 
■dire extremity at the time. 

The close of the Pequot war was followed by an era of pros- 
perity in the New England colonies, and nowhere was there made 
more rapid strides in advancement and development than in the 
fertile Connecticut valley. For several years Springfield was 
the chief center of trade and population, and as settlement in- 
creased the lands in the vicinity were taken up and soon fine 
farms existed in place of heavy forest growths of former times. 
In the course of a few years plantations were established at 
Woronoco (Westfield), Masacksick (Longmeadow), Freshwater 
(Enfield, Conn.), and also on the famous Chicopee Plain, on the 
west bank of the river above Springfield. Farther up were the 
fiourishing plantations of Hadley, Northampton. Hatfield, 
Greenfield, Deerfield (Pocomtuck) and Northfield, the latter the 
most northerly settlement in the valley at that time. When 
Hampshire county was created in 1662 it is estimated that about 
1,500 whites were settled in the valley, and that the Indians in 
the same region numbered about 400 or 500. Generally they 
were friendly, yet at times the genius of Mr. Pynchon was taxed 
to maintain good order and prevent complications through de- 
mands for arrests from the authorities of the eastern settlements. 

While liarmon}' thus prevailed for a period of nearly two- 

( 41 ) 



STRUGGLES WITH THE INDIANS 

score years, it was only the calm that preceded the storm ; but 
the settlers had profited by the lesson of the Pequot war and 
made preparation for any future outbreak ; yet they could not 
guard against surprise or sudden attack from a dusky foe. In 
1639 the Springfield authorities provided for the organization 
of a militia force by the adoption of the following regulation : 

''It is ordered that the exercise of trayning shall be prac- 
tised one day in every month ; and if occasion doe sometimes 
hinder, then the like space of tyme shall be observed another 
tyme, though it be two days after one another. And whosoever 
shall absent himself without lawful excuse shall forfeit twelve 
pence, and all above fifteen years of age shall be counted for sol- 
diers, and the tyme to begin, the first thursday in December 
next." Henry Smith was appointed sergeant of the company,, 
with authority to appoint a corporal. 

Each settled locality in the valley was provided with a mili- 
tary company under similar regulations, and each also caused 
a fortified house to be built for the protection of the settlers and 
their families in case of attack. Springfield had three such 
places, one of which, strongly constructed of brick, was built by 
Mr. Pynchon in 1660 and remained standing until 1831. For 
almost two centuries it withstood the ravages of time and the 
elements, and on at least one occasion it also successfully with- 
stood an Indian attack. Fort Pynchon stood at the corner of 
what now is Main and Fort streets, the latter name always hav- 
ing been preserved in memory of the old historic structure. The 
Springfield Fire and Marine Insurance company's building 
(the "Fort building") stands on the site once occupied by the 
old fort. 

The organization of defensive military foi-ces and the con- 
struction of fortified houses in the valley was accomplished none 
too soon, although the work Avas begun within ten years after the 
annihilation of the Pequots. After the organization of Hamp- 
shire county, Capt. John Pynchon was placed in command of the 
Springfield company, and also was commissioned major of the 
"Hampshire Horse," the latter a troop of mounted riflemen 
clraAvn from all parts of the county. The entire military forces 

( 43 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

of the valley in 1671 numbered probably four hundred effective 
men, but they were much scattered throughout the settled locali- 
ties, and were not sufficiently strong in any single place to suc- 
cessfully withstand the desperate attacks of King Philip's horde 
of savages in the war which soon devastated the region. 

Soon after the Pequot war the Narragansetts, who had been 
the allies of the English during that brief struggle, became in- 
solent and showed a disposition to provoke enmity with their late 
friends. Their chief, INIiantonomo, who had behaved with com- 
parative decency in former years, now had become jealous of the 
English, and particularly of Uncas and his Mohegan brothers, 
the latter being exceedingly friendly with the whites and in 
great favor among them. But notwithstanding the crafty wiles 
and petty outrages of the disgruntled chief, the English man- 
aged to keep peace with his people until 1646, when they planned 
to visit upon them such punishment as overtook the Pequots. 
However, before this plan was carried out the Indians were awed 
into subjection, surrendering their arms and agreeing upon a 
peace which was afterward generally observed. 

The Wampanoags, who, with the Narragansetts, inhabited 
the southeast country of New England, and who occupied a high 
place in Indian councils, were at this time under Massasoit, their 
chief (whose memory is perpetuated in the name of Springfield's 
leading hotel). He pledged his people in peace with the col- 
onists in 1621, and was faithful to his promise to the year of his 
death, 1662. He left two sons Alexander and Philip, the former 
of whom succeeded his father as chief, but died the same year, 
Philip then became chief, or sachem (accounts differ as to his 
office, the sachem being supreme in the civil councils of the tribe 
and the chief commanding in time of battle), and from that 
time until his death he schemed to undo all the good his father 
had done, and to surpass in outrage and inhuman slaughter all 
the chiefs of tribes in the New England colonies. In this re- 
spect he was successful, and he involved the colonies in a war 
which continued two years and which cost the whites hundreds 
of lives in battle and massacre, while during the same period the 
Indian loss amounted to thousands of lives of warriors, women 

( 44 ) 



STRUGGLES WITH THE L\DIANS 

and children. AVith craftiness worthy of a higher purpose King 
Philip drew to his standard nearly every tribe in the colonies and 
waged a warfare that taxed the strength and resources of the 
United Colonies ; and when at last he fell it was by the hand of 
one of his own savage followers, whose brother he had slain in 
passion for suggesting that peace be again established with the 
English. 

King Philip plunged heedlessly into the war, and while he 
had spent several years in spreading the seed of dissension among 
the tribes of New England, he Avas not prepared for the contest 
when it came. By some mischance a converted Indian found 
temporary lodgment with Philip's people, and discovered that 
while they were proclaiming friendship with the English, they 
nevertheless were secretly planning their destruction. This was 
reported to the planters at Natick, and for that ofifense the 
"praying" Indian was killed at Philip's command. The Ply- 
mouth colonists arrested and hanged the murderers, Avho hap- 
pened to be three of Philip's warriors, which so enraged the 
chief that he was no longer able to restrain himself and plunged 
into the war in June, 1675, by attacking Rehoboth and Swanzey. 
But he was so closely pursued by the Massachusetts militia that 
after a series of secret attacks and sudden retreats, the latter part 
of July found his forces in the vicinity of Brookfield, approach- 
ing and threatening the Connecticut valley, where the Indians 
generally flocked to his aid, although almost to the very hour of 
their departure they professed friendship for the whites. The 
prospect of blood and plunder was too much for their weak na- 
tures to resist, and true to savage instincts they allied themselves 
to Philip's cause and waged a bitter war against the settlers who 
had been their chief support for nearly a score of years. 

After the treacherous^ attack upon and burning of Brook- 

^The Xipmucks. who occupied the central portion of Massacliusetts. made the 
direct attaclv on Broolifield. although they were aided by a part of Philip's men 
and some of the Connecticut river Indians. The Nipmucks had promised to meet 
a party of Massachusetts oflBcers and troops at Brooktield and discuss a treaty 
with them, but on the appointed day not an Indian appeared in the town. The 
party went out to meet them in their own territory, where they were drawn into 
an ambuscade and frightfully slaughtered. 

( 45 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

field (Quaboag), the affair covering a period of several days and 
costing many lives, Philip's force was compelled to seek shelter 
in the forests and swamps in the direction of the Connecticut 
river. News of the attack was sent into the valley and Spring- 
field's company, under Lieutenant Cooper, accompanied by 
thirty Hartford militia and a number of professedly friendly 
Indians, marched to the relief of the besieged settlement. But 
before they arrived the attacking party had retired. In a few 
days after the disaster at Brookfield, Philip's men attacked Deer- 
field, burning a number of houses, and on the next day killed 
several men at Northfield. On September 3 a force of thirty- 
six men under Captain Beers, designed for the garrison at North- 
field, were attacked, and twenty of them, including Captain 
Beers, were killed. Just two weeks later followed the fearful 
slaughter at Bloody Brook, one of the most lamentable events of 
its character in early New England history. Philip's men had 
now overcome every opposing body of whites and the whole lower 
Connecticut valley M'as virtually laid open to the ravages of his 
merciless horde. 

When the news of these attacks was communicated to 
■colonial authorities of Massachusetts and Connecticut, prompt 
measures were taken to defeat the purpose of the savages, but 
instead of at once increasing the defensive force of the valley by 
men from the east, they made the unfortunate mistake of calling 
upon the companies of the towns in the valley to relieve each 
other, thus leaving some of them unprotected against a secret at- 
tack. A mistake of this character resulted in the burning of 
Springfield, with a loss of several lives and a large amount of 
property. 

Early in October the news reached Springfield that a con- 
siderable body of Indians had appeared in the vicinity of Hadley 
with evident design to attack the town, whereupon Major Pyn- 
chon and his force of forty-five of the strongest young men of 
Springfield hastened to reinforce the garrison at that place. Thus 
Springfield, on the night of October 4, was wholly at the mercy 
of a savage horde who were only waiting a favorable moment for 
.attack. For some weeks the Springfield Indians had been rest- 

( 46 ) 



STRUGGLES WITH THE INDIANS 

ive and all their movements indicated ill feeling toward the 
whites. They were sullen and morose, and instead of mingling 
with the settlers, as had been their habit for years, they kept in 
the vicinity of their fort in the south part of the town ; and while 
Major Pynchon's little company was marching Avith all speed to 
the relief of Hadley, the treacherous Springfield Indians were 
harboring King Philip's savages within their fort and only wait- 
ing to strike the defenceless settlement unawares. 

However, by mere chance the scheme was discovered before 
the attack was made. In the family of a Windsor settler named 
Wolcott lived Toto, a friendly Indian, who disclosed the plot to 
the family, and the latter at once dispatched a messenger to 
Springfield with the news. Word was quickly sent to Major 
Pynchon, and in the meantime the inhabitants removed their 
families and some of their effects to the fortified houses. The 
young men of the settlement were with the militia at Hadley, and 
only a few men of more advanced years remained at home. 
Among the latter were Thomas Miller. Deacon Samuel Chapin, 
one of the magistrates, Jonathan Burt, the town clerk, and Lieu- 
tenant Cooper, the latter also beyond the middle age, but who 
recently had led the Springfield company to the relief of Brook- 
field. Kev. Mr. Glover, the minister, also was with the settlers. 

All through this long October night the inhabitants of 
Spring-field kept a ceaseless watch for the dreaded savages, but 
the morning dawned without a sign of the enemy. The settlers 
felt in a measure reassured and at last began to hope that the 
rumor was false. Eev. Mr. Glover even returned with his library 
to his own house, having previously kept it at Major Pynchon's 
for safety. At length the fear of an attack began to pass away, 
and to satisfy themselves as to the truth of the report spread 
abroad, Lieutenant Cooper and Thomas Miller mounted their 
horses and rode off in the direction of the Indian fort. They 
passed beyond the settled portion of the town and as they entered 
a piece of w^oods a little north of ]\Iill river, both were shot by a 
concealed enemy. Miller falling dead from his horse, and Cooper 
having a mortal wound. He nevertheless struggled to his feet, 
remounted his horse and rode swiftly back into the town, where 
he died near the entrance to the nearest fort. 

( 47 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

"The Indians then burst upon the town with great fury.^ 
Unable to gratify their thirst for blood by the slaughter of the 
people within the forts, they began the work of destroying their 
undefended houses, barns and other property. The whole num- 
ber of dwelling houses in the town Avas forty-five, and in a short 
time thirty-two of these dwellings and twenty-four or twenty- 
five barns were in flames. The house of correction was de- 
stroyed. IMajor Pynchon's corn mill and saw mill were burned 
and in general the corn and hay in store for the coming Avinter 
were consumed. Besides Cooper and Miller, one woman, Pente- 
cost iNIatthews, wife of John Matthews, the drummer, who lived 
near the south end of the street, was killed. Four other persons 
were wounded, one of them, Edward Pringrydays, so severely 
that he died a few days afterward. ' ' 

"From one end of the street to the other, this scene of havoc 
and devastation was exhibited. The beleaguered people looked 
out guardedly from the windows and loop-holes of the fortified 
houses and saw the Indians whom they had known familiarly for 
years as neighbors and friends— to whom they had done no 
wrong— ruthlessly apply the torch to their dwellings, and con- 
sign them, with their furniture, their stores of food, and all the 
little provisions they had made for the comfort of their families 
during the approaching winter, to a remorseless destruction." 

"In this diabolical work the Springfield Indians, some forty 
in number, were not a whit behind the strangers, whom they had 
admitted to their fort. Indeed, first and foremost in this work, 
'the ringleader in word and deed', was "Wequogan,^ the chief 
sachem of the Springfield Indians. Another chief, well known 
to our people, while actively engaged in this mischief, loudly 

'We quote freely from Henry AIorris"s narrative on the burning of Spring- 
field, tliat being one of the most reliable accounts extant. 

sWequogan is believed to have been killed near Dedham during the latter 
part of King Philip's war. He was one of three Indians who in 1674 sold to 
Elizur Holyoke and others, "for the use and behoof of the town, a tract of land 
bounded northerly by 'Chicliuppe' river, southerly by the Scantic and Freshwater 
rivers, and extending from the foot of Wilbraham mountains on the east as far as 
Five Mile pond on the west." In the sale of 1674 Wequogan Is mentioned as 
formerly called Wrutherna. but probably was not the Indian of that name who 
signed the deed to Pynchon in 1G36 ; but he may have. been his son. — Morris. 

( 48 ) 



STRUGGLES WITH THE INDIANS 

proclaimed to them that he was the one who had burned Quaboag, 
and wonld serve them the same way." 

Several of the Indians who participated in the burning' of 
Springfield were shot by the besieged people from their fortified 
houses, but the larger part of them escaped injury and took away 
all the plunder they could carry. They disappeared as suddenly 
as they had come, and their subsequent encampment at Indian 
Orchard was not known to the whites for some time. While 
they Avere busy with their work of destruction Major Treat and 
his company of Connecticut militia appeared on the west side of 
the river, having learned of the attack and made a forced march 
from Westfield. Not being able to cross the river, they were 
of little real service, yet their presence in the neighborhood had 
the effect to deter the Indians from a combined attack on any of 
the fortified houses. 

About the middle of the afternoon, October 5, i\Iajor Pyn- 
ehon's men came hastily into the town, tired and worn with their 
rapid movements, yet the murderous horde of savages fled be- 
fore their approach and sought safety in the densely wooded 
regions south of the settlement. But what a scene of desola- 
tion greeted the returned men as they approached the town from 
the north, for the ruins of fifty-seven buildings were still smoul- 
dering and not a single house north of Major Pynchon's was 
standing, except that of William Branch. "Between Pynchon's 
house and the meeting house, the house of Rev. Mr. Glover, John 
Hitchcock, John Stewart and several others were burned, as were 
their barns. A few houses were standing about the meeting 
house, or the present Elm street. From the house of Thomas 
Merrick, a little below where West State street now is, down to 
the two garrison houses at the lower end of Main street, all were 
destroyed. In one of those garrison houses lay the body of Lieut. 
Thomas Cooper." He was a carpenter by trade, and built the 
first meeting house here in 1645 ; was deputy to the general court 
in 1668, and appears to have possessed considerable knowledge 
of surgery. 

According to reliable authority it is believed that the Avhole 
number of Indians engaged in the destruction of Springfield was 



4-1 



( 49 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

about six hundred, of which number two hundred and seventy 
were King Philip 's savages and the remainder were Connecticut 
river and other Massachusetts Indians. 

In describing the situation of the town after the burning, 
Holland says: "The inhabitants were thus left houseless and 
almost penniless. There were no mills to grind their corn, or to 
saw stuffs for new dwellings, and in deep discouragement they 
came near abandoning the settlement and leaving their estates 
as the settlers at the north had done. Major Pynchon was much 
disheartened; the accumulations of a lifetime had been swept 
away, and it is not unlikely that the graceless return which the 
Indians had made for all his kindness had an eft'ect upon hisi 
mind. His Avere the buildings destroyed previous to the gen- 
eral conflagration. He felt, too, the weight of responsibility that 
was upon him in his position as the leading man of the town. 
Mr. Glover, the minister, lost one of the most valuable private 
libraries that New England then contained." 

Major Pynchon unquestionably was the greatest loser by the 
disaster, and his sentiments and feelings are pretty well de- 
scribed in the following extract from his letter to Governor 
Leverett, written from Springfield three days after the burning 
of the town: "Our people are under great discouragement- 
talk of leaving the place. AVe need your orders and direction 
about it. If it be deserted how wofully do we yield to and en- 
courage our insolent enemy, and how doth it make way for the 
giving up of all the towns above. If it be held it must be by 
strength and many soldiers, and how to have provision— I mean 
bread— for want of a mill, is difficult. The soldiers here already 
complain on that account, although we have flesh enough. And 
this very strait— I mean no meal, will drive many of our inhabit- 
ants away, especially those that have no corn, and many of them 
no houses, which fills and throngs up every room of those that 
have, together with the soldiers now (which yet we cannot be 
without) increasing our numbers, so that indeed it is very un- 
comfortable living here, and for my own particular, it would be 
far better for me to go away, because here I have not anything 
left— I mean no corn, neither Indian nor English, and no means 

( 50 ) 



STRUGGLES WITH THE INDIANS 

to keep one beast here ; uor can I have release in this town be- 
cause so many are destitute. But I resolve to attend to what 
God calls me to, and to stick to it as long as I can, and though I 
have such great loss to my comforts, yet to do what I can for de- 
fending the place. I hope God will make up in himself what is 
wanting in the creature, to me and to us all." 

As is unmistakably indicated by the tenor of Mr. Pynchon 's 
letter, the people of Springfield were indeed reduced to great 
extremity as the result of the attack, and many of the settlers 
seriously contemplated a removal to the better protected towns 
in the east part of the province. The disasters in the upper 
part of tlie valley, followed by that at Springfield, filled the peo- 
ple of Northampton and Hadley with great apprehension, for in 
the order of things those towns probably would next suffer; and 
now with Major Pynchon resigned from the militia command, 
the settlers had no one person upon whom they could lean for 
advice. Capt. Samuel Appleton succeeded to the command of 
the Massachusetts troops in this region, and established himself 
at Hadley. Captain Seeley with the Connecticut men was at 
Northampton, but not being in supreme command in the absence 
of Major Treat, he declined to co-operate with the Massachusetts 
militia. Later on the Connecticut authorities corrected this 
blunder and sent INIajor Treat with a force sufficient to garrison 
and protect Northampton. 

On October 19, while the commanders of the detached forces 
in the valley were arranging defensive plans, King Philip's 
warriors, some seven or eight hundred strong, surprised Hat- 
field, then defended by Captains Moseley and Poole. The at- 
tack was well planned, but evidently the Indians miscalculated 
the defense of the place, for they were repulsed with loss in every 
quarter; and on the arrival of Captain Appleton from Hadley 
they were utterly routed and put to flight. This was the first 
severe punishment administered to Philip during the year, and it 
had the eft'ect to change his plans for the winter ; and instead of 
remaining in the valley he soon afterward betook himself, with 
his AYampanoag warriors, to the Narragansett country, where 
he remained in comparative quiet several months, although he 

( 51 ) 



OUR COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

was at one time reported to be in the vicinity of Albany with sev- 
eral hundred braves. Had this been true the Mohawks would 
have saved New England the expense of a campaign in the year 
1676. 

Notwithstanding the withdrawal of Philip's forces from the 
valley about the first of November, the region was by no means 
pacified, nor were the settlers at all secure in their homes, for 
the river Indians were implacable, mean and perfectly devilish 
in their treatment of the whites throughout the winter months. 
Soon after the attack on Hatfield several settlers engaged in 
harvesting corn near Northampton were surprised by a party of 
Indians and barely escaped with their lives; and before Major 
Treat could organize a pursuit the savages had burned several 
buildings and made a safe retreat into the forests. A few days 
later the grist mill was attacked, but was saved by a party of 
soldiers kept there for its protection. 

During the winter, which, providentially, was exception- 
ally mild, Westfield was twice attacked by marauding bands; 
first, soon after the affair at Northampton, when Mr. Granger, 
a planter, was wounded, and the dwelling of Mr. Cornish and the 
house and barns of John Sacket were burned, wdth their con- 
tents. About the same time three young men of Spring:field, 
one a son of Mr. Gumbleton and the others sons of Mr. Brooks, 
went out to examine some iron ore lands owned by Mr. Pynchon, 
and were killed. In this manner depredations were continued 
all through the winter, and the p<-ople of Springfield were almost 
daily alarmed by the reports of Indians in the vicinity. They 
had thought to abandon the settlement, but were strictly enjoined 
not to do so by an order of the general court. 

During the more severe winter months the Indians were 
comparatively quiet, but when spring approached they resumed 
their depredations. In the meantime the colonial authorities 
had organized a powerful force to crush the savages in their 
eastern strongholds. For this expedition JNIassachusetts fur- 
nished 527 men, commanded by INIajor Samuel Appleton; Con- 
necticut furnished 315 men under ^lajor Treat, and Plymouth 
furnished 158 men under Governor Winslow, who also was to 

( 52 ) 



STRUGGLES ^YIT^ THE INDIANS 

serve as commander-in-chief. The details of the expedition are 
not necessary to this chapter, and it is sufficient to state that as 
its result seven hundred Indians were killed outright, three hun- 
dred were mortally wounded, while hundreds of others, men, 
squaws and papooses, perished in the flames of their burning 
wigwams. The colonists lost about two hundred men in battles, 
and a few others who died from exposure. It was a terrible pun- 
ishment, however, for the Indians, yet severe as it was, King 
Philip's power was not broken. Of his warriors Avho escaped 
some fled to the Nipmueks while others found refuge in the wig- 
wams of the Connecticut river Indians in the vicinity of Spring- 
field, Deerfield and Northfield, where Philip had faithful allies. 

In the latter part of March, 1676, the people of Long- 
meadow, having all through the winter been deprived of the 
privilege of attending worship in their meeting house, deter- 
mined to visit the sanctuary in Springfield, four miles distant. 
On Sunday morning, INIarch 26, they set out under a strong and 
apparently determined guard ; but when in the vicinity of Pe- 
cowsic brook a party of eight Indians surprised them, routed 
the guard and attacked the unprotected people, killing John 
Keep, his wife and child, wounding others, and making captives 
of two women and two children. 

About the same time the settlement at Westfield was sub- 
jected to a second visit from the Indians, but upon the first indi- 
cations of their presence in the vicinity a party of a dozen deter- 
mined armed men went out and drove them from the place, kill- 
ing and wounding a number of them and losing only two of their 
own men — Moses Cook, a planter, and one of the soldiers of the 
garrison. 

The severe punishment inflicted on the Indians in the east- 
ern part of the colonies during the winter had the effect to 
change the seat of subsequent events from that region to the val- 
ley of the Connecticut, and early in the spring Springfield, 
Northampton. Hadley and Hatfield became important points of 
operations. The Indians, however, were early on the move, and 
about the middle of JNIareh made a furious attack upon North- 
ampton, following it two weeks later with a similar assault upon 

( 53 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Hatfield, the latter without injurious results except to them- 
selves. They then returned to Northampton, but passed with- 
out an attack, and next turned up at Westfield, as has been men- 
tioned. 

These marauding depredations were continued at frequent 
intervals by small bands of Indians, and at length the Massachu- 
setts council suggested that the smaller plantations consolidate 
with those of greater strength for the general security of all. 
Thus Longmeadow and AA^estfield were urged to unite with 
Springfield until the troublous period should have passed. Long- 
meadow, by reason of its recent visitation, had no objection to 
the plan, but Westfield with a spirit of determination and inde- 
pendence that has ever characterized its people in all generations, 
repudiated the suggestion to leave a strongly defended plantation 
for one of less strength and without habitations or means of sup- 
port even for its own people. Isaac Phelps, David Ashley and 
Josiah DeAvey acted for the town in this matter, and their coun- 
cils were aided by the advice of Mr. Taylor,^ their minister ; and 
with such art did these worthies address themselves to the coun- 
cil that their argument prevailed and there was no consolidation 
of towns. On the contrary, a defensive force of one hundred 
and eighty men was granted the locality. 

Soon after the beginning of operations in 1676 the Indians 
established themselves in camp in the vicinity of Deerfield, and 
with Philip in command they regarded themselves able to resist 
any force the English were likely to send against them. From 
this point small bands made sudden assaults on the frontier set- 
tlements, burning buildings and driving off cattle. About this 
time it was learned from an Indian who was captured near Chico- 
pee (three others being killed at the time) by Captain Samuel 

^In a letter to the council Mr. Taylor sets forth several reasons why the 
Westflekl people cannot remove from their town, one of his arguments being as 
follows : "We are altogether incapacitated for any removal, by reason of the 
awful hand of God upon us, in personal visitations, for there came a soldier sick 
of bloody flux, and, dying amongst us, in Capt. Cook's family, hath infested the 
family therewith, insomuch that he hath lost a son by it, his wife lies at the 
point of death, his youngest son is very weak of it, and he himself is almost 
brought to bed by it, and there is another family in the house hath it." 

( 54 ) 



STRUGGLES ^YITH THE INDIANS 

Holyoke 's men, that the whole number of Indians in the camp in 
the upper valley was 3,000, of whom 1,000 were warriors, chiefly 
Narragansetts, Nipmncks and Quaboags, Avith some river In- 
dians, but that there were no foreigners (iMohawks) among 
them. He said that they were poorly supplied with clothing 
and food, but had an abundance of ammunition and plenty of 
guns which they had bought from the Dutch traders. 

On May 18 Captains Turner and Holyoke, with one hundred 
and eighty men from Springfield, Northampton and Hadley, 
made a rapid forced march and attacked the Indian encampment 
on Fall river, causing a loss to the savages of more than three 
hundred in killed and drowned, besides the destruction of their 
wigwams and fishing grounds. Soon afterw^ard, however, as 
the victors were returning to Hatfield, they were set upon and 
harassed along the entire march by the thoroughly maddened 
red men. Captain Turner was killed and the command de- 
volved upon Captain Holyoke, who in fact was the hero of the 
expedition, and whose coolness and skill alone saved the little 
body of English from total annihilation. As it was thirty-eight 
men were lost. 

The attack upon the Indians at the Falls, while unfortunate 
in its final results to the English, was terribly disastrous to the 
Indians, as it broke up the fisheries which were their chief de- 
pendence for food. In retaliation Philip invaded Hatfield, but 
in so doing he encountered a body of twenty-five soldiers, Avho 
punished him severely and drove his savages from the town with 
a loss of twenty-five redskins— one for each man in the Hadley 
company. 

At length the Massachusetts and Connecticut authorities 
healed their differences and determined to clear the country of 
the murderous horde of savages who had caused such widespread 
desolation, and to that end planned a formidable expedition 
against them. Connecticut agreed to and did send to join the 
Massachusetts forces an efficient body of two hundred and fifty 
troops and two hundred Mohegan warriors. Under command 
of Major Talcott this force swept up the Connecticut valley, 
clearing the region of every hostile Indian along the line of 

( 55 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

march; and he arrived at Hadley^ just as the garrison had re- 
pulsed a determined attack by Philip's men. This defeat, to- 
gether with the timely arrival of Talcott, was the beginning of 
the end of Indian depredations in this region, either by King 
Philip's warriors or his Connecticut river allies. The com- 
bined colonial forces with their jNIohegan allies cleared the region 
of its skulking enemies, and after Talcott 's men had pursued a 
part of them into the Narragansett country and still others into 
the Housatonic valley, all that lived of the once murderous horde 
sought refuge with their ancestors in Canada. 

Philip struggled on for a time, but at last fell by the hand 
of one of his own warriors. He was killed August 12, 1676. The 
victorious English cleared the eastern portion of the colonies of 
Indians, which work continued until the spring of 1678. 

The most reliable authorities estimate that during King 
Philip's war the United Colonies lost one-eleventh of their entire 
militia forces and about the same proportion of all the build- 
ings. The Indian loss during the same time is estimated at more 
than 5,000, of both sexes. 

lAn interesting fact of general liistory was disclosed in connection witli the 
attaclc on Hadley. At one time the Indians had pierced the palisades and gained 
the interior of a house, but were beaten bacic after a desperate struggle. The 
defenders showed some sign of weal<ening and were in a state of confusion, when 
suddenly there appeared in their midst a stranger, who at once assumed com- 
mand, encouraged the soldiers and directed efforts which resulted in success for 
the defenders of the place. Sulisequently the fact was disclosed that the stranger 
was Goffe. one of the judges who condemned to death Charles I. of England, and 
who. having escaped from England in 1660, afterward lived in exile in America, 
For twelve years preceding the time of the attack on Hadley. Gofife and his 
father-in-law. named Whalley, had been members of Mr, UusselTs family, Mr, 
Russell was the minister at Hadley, 



( 56 ) 



CHAPTER VI 
COLONIAL WARS 

From the Close of King Philip's War to ike End of the French 
Dominion — Indians Ask to he Restored to their Former Posses- 
sions in the Connecticut Valley — King William's War — Indian 
Depredations of tJie Frontier — Queen Aiute's War — Treaty of 
rtrecJit— Trouble icitli tJie Ahenaquis — Father Kasle and Wor- 
onoaJi — War Again Declared Betiveen England and France — 
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle — War Resumed — TJie Hampshire 
County Regiment at Lake George — Troops xissembled at 
Springfield — End of tJie War — Treaty of Paris. 

Although the Indians were driven from their former haunts 
in the valley as the result of their alliance with King Philip, they 
nevertheless were reluctant to remain permanently away from 
their favorite fishing grounds. When they left they found 
refuge in Canada and placed themselves under the protection 
of the French. Occasionally during the early part of the fol- 
lowing year, under French instigation, war parties made incur- 
sions into the regions of Vermont and New Hampshire, and in 
September a force of about fifty of them attacked Hatfield and 
Deerfield, and even made a demonstration against the mill at 
Hadley. In the upper valley country they killed a number of 
persons and made captives of others, carrying the latter to Can- 
ada. 

Notwithstanding these atrocities, the uncivilized vagabonds 
soon afterward presented themselves to the English and asked 
that they again might occupy their possessions along the Con- 
necticut. Only three years before they had formed an alliance 

( 57 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

with a falling power (King Philip) and by their unpardonable 
treachery they had forfeited all claims to consideration at the 
hands of the English, yet noAv they asked to be admitted to the 
benefits of peace. The English treated them with a far greater 
moderation than they deserved, and sent Major Treat to nego- 
tiate terms with them, or, rather, to tell them what they might 
do and what would be expected of them. First, they must sub- 
ject themselves to English laws as did the English people ; they 
must restore to the English any captives they had taken to Can- 
ada or elsewhere. Then they were at liberty to reoccupy the 
land formerly possessed by them, with the privileges accorded to 
the whites. 

In a way the Indians accepted the terms imposed upon them 
(Major Treat was entirely fair but was very firm with them) and 
did return a part of the captives (the others were ransomed by 
a party of whites who went to Canada and purchased their re- 
lease), but the idea of living strictly in accordance with the laws 
of order which bound the white man was so repugnant to the sav- 
ages that they soon left the region and took up their abode near 
the Canada border. 

After the withdrawal of the Indians the settlers in the val- 
ley returned to their lands, restored the buildings and devoted 
themselves to the peaceful arts of agriculture and trade. For 
a period of ten years they thus lived in undisturbed quiet, and 
during that time they prospered as never before. Hampshire 
county now had become one of the important civil divisions of 
iVIassachusetts, and in population, resources and productions it 
ranked with the best regions of New England. 

In 1688, upon the abdication of James II., and the accession 
of AVilliam and Mary to the British throne, England and France 
almost at once engaged in what has been known in history as 
King William's war, a struggle that re-echoed throughout the 
American colonies. The French in Canada now were aided by 
the Indians who had been driven from New England, and the 
savages themselves required but little persuasion to induce them 
to wage war against their recent conquerors, especially as the 
French officers offered a bounty for each English scalp and each 
English captive. 

( 58 ) 



COLONIAL WARS 

Once more therefore the New Engianders were called upon 
to defend their northern frontier against a wily foe. New York 
then had become a thoroughly English province, and shared with 
her sister colonies on the east the vicissitudes of war wdth com- 
bined French and Indian enemies; but New York, unlike New 
England, had the assistance of the powerful Iroquois confeder- 
acy, whose warriors hated not only the French but also the In- 
dians who were their allies. On the other hand, the New Eng- 
ianders relied for the defense of their frontier upon the sturdy 
planters, and it was a confidence worthily bestowed. 

In INIassachusetts the upper Connecticut valley was the most 
exposed region, and one that required the strongest defensive 
force. For this purpose the southern to^ms of Hampshire 
county were called upon to contribute almost the entire strength 
of their militia. Brookfield was invaded in 1692, and in the 
next year Deerfield and Northfield again were scenes of strife 
and bloodshed. The depredations in these and other localities, 
while of small importance in general warfare, had the effect to 
keep the frontier in a state of constant disorder, and the lower 
towns were more or less affected by the events. In December, 
1697, the treaty of Ryswick put an end to the war between 
France and England, but in the colonies the Indians persevered 
in their depredations for several months. 

In 1702, after five years of peace. King AYilliam died and 
Queen Anne entered upon her reign. In the very same year 
what is known as "Queen Anne's war" was begun, involving 
alike the mother countries and their colonies on this side of the 
Atlantic; and again the bloodhounds of death were let loose on 
the ^Massachusetts border. In February, 1704, a party of 
French and Indians under Hertel de Rouville surprised Deer- 
field, killed forty-seven persons and made prisoners of more 
than one hundred others. Having plundered the town and 
burned the buildings, the French returned to Canada with the 
captives. Determined to allow the frontier no respite, the 
French and Indians harassed the eastern quarter of New Eng- 
land throughout the entire summer. In 170.5 and 1706, while 
nearly all the militiamen were away on duty, the savages ven- 

( 59 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

tiired down the valley to their old resorts in the vicinity of North- 
ampton and Hadley, where they committed small depredations. 
They even went over into AVestfield, and in the north part of 
Springfield they wounded Samuel Chapin. In July, 1708, they 
attacked the house of Lieutenant Wright at Skipmuck, in Spring- 
field, and killed three persons— Mr. Wright, the senior, and two 
soldiers, Aaron Parsons and Barijah Hubbard. Two children 
were wounded, one of them dying soon afterward ; and Henry 
Wright's wife was carried away captive. 

These, however, were only the minor incidents of the war, 
the heavier contests being waged in other parts of the colonies or 
in the Canadas. In 1701 the Iroquois made a treaty of peace 
with the French and their Indian allies, and in their territory 
they proved an impenetrable barrier between Queen Anne's 
army and the English in New York. Therefore the French di- 
rected their entire force against New England. Expeditions 
followed one another in quick succession, and as the English had 
no savage allies, they suffered most. The contest was waged 
with varying results, the greater disasters falling upon the Eng- 
lish through the failure of their elaborately planned expeditions 
against the Canadas. No less than four attempts at mobiliza- 
tion of troops were made for the subjugation of the French 
strongholds, but through some misfortune each proved a failure. 
In the meantime the French and Indians were flitting from place 
to place along the frontier, frecpiently making an incursion into 
the Connecticut valley, killing, burning and plundering as they 
went. They kept the English on the defensive, but would not 
give battle Avithout an advantage on their side. However, in 
1713, the treaty of Utrecht^ ended the war in the old country and 
soon afterward hostilities ceased in America. 

After the end of Queen Anne's war the Connecticut valley 
in Massachusetts was virtually exempted from serious disturb- 
ances until about the beginning of the final struggle for suprem- 

^This treaty "secured the Protestant succession to the throne ; also the sep- 
aration of the French and Spanish crowns, the destruction of Dunljirii, the 
enlargement of British colonies in America, and a full satisfaction from France 
of the claims of the allied kingdoms. Britain. Holland and Germany." 

( 60 ) 



COLONIAL WARS 

aey in America between Great Britain and France. Yet on the 
northern frontier all was not peace and qniet dui-ing this com- 
paratively long period. In 1722 troubles arose between the 
]\Iassachusetts and New Hampshire colonists on the one side, and 
the Abenaqiiis Indians on the other side. The latter, as is men- 
tioned in an earlier chapter, Avere of Canadian ancestry, and 
were allied to the French throiighont the dominion of that power 
in America : and from their country east and north of the Merri- 
mac river, they were a constant source of annoyance to the Eng- 
lish towns in eastern Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Treaty 
provisions had no binding effect on the Indians, and if they chose 
to make war against the English it was not a matter of much con- 
cern to the French king, even if one of his missionary represent- 
atives was the force that instigated the savages against the Eng- 
lish. This priest was Father Sebastian Easle, whose principal 
mission was on the Kennebec river, although in the journeyings 
of the Jesuit fathers in the province of New York the surname 
is found among the missionaries in the Iroquois country. 

While Father Rasle was chiefly instrumental in opposing 
the Indians against the English colonists during the troublous 
period from 1722 to 1726, the real leader of the savages was the 
chief ^Voronoak, who formerly dwelt on the Agawam branch of 
"WestfielcP river and probably within the limits of the present 
town of Westfield, the Indian name of which is Woronoco. When 
the supposedly friendly Connecticut river Indians joined them- 
selves to King Philip, the red men living at Woronoco were of 
the recreant number, and they afterward took part in all the dis- 
tressing events enacted in the valley in later years ; and it is be- 
lieved that the chief Woronoco, or AYoronoak, had a hand in the 
burning of Springfield and in the subsequent attacks upon West- 

^Many writers and map makers have given to this stream the name "Aga- 
wam" river, in allusion to the early Indian occupants of the locality. Agawam 
in the Indian tongue means lowland or marshland, and is descriptive of the char- 
acter of the land near the mouth of the stream. The Indian village in the locality 
also was called Agawam, and from this combination of incidents the river has 
mistakenly been called by that name. The stream in fact is Westfleld river and 
is so known outside of West Springfield. It is proper, however, to refer to that 
portion of the stream in the town of West Springfield as the Agawam part of the 
river. 

( 61 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

field. On being driven from the valley his people occupied lands 
on the Missisquoi bay and river, on the Canada border and well 
under the protection of the French, yet sufficiently near the Eng- 
lish frontier to cause the colonists constant trouble. 

Woronoco also was known as ''Gray Lock, "^ so called, it is 
claimed, in allusion to his hoary head, but we are not aware that 
the bloodthirsty old savage is entitled to special veneration on 
that account. During the period referred to, the Indians under 
Gray Lock, or Woronoak, made frequent raids along the northern 
frontier and on one or two occasions stole down the Connecticut 
valley to the region of their former abode in Springfield and 
Westfield. To oppose their incursions Fort Dummer was built 
in 1724, on the site of Brattleboro, Vt., and strong garrisons were 
posted at Deerfield and Northfield. In December, 1725, a treaty 
Avas made with the eastern Indians, the same being ratified in 
August, 1726. 

In 1744, after twenty years of actual peace, war again was 
declared between England and France. In the years following 
the treaty of Ryswick, notwithstanding the troubles incident to 
the so-called "Father Rasle" uprising, all the colonies rapidly 
increased in population and industrial importance, and settle- 
ments had been extended to the extreme western part of Massa- 
chusetts. It is estimated that during the thirty years following 
Queen Anne's war the inhabitants in western Massachusetts in- 
creased more than threefold. In 1748 the English colonies in 
America contained more than a million inhabitants, and the 
French had only about sixty thousand. 

When the powers again had recourse to arms the eastern 
colonies were compelled to extend their line of defenses west- 
ward to the west l)oundary of Massachusetts. Accordingly, 
Fort Massachusetts was built at Hoosac (now Adams) ; Fort 
Shirley was built in the town of Heath, and Fort Pelham was 
built in Rowe, both in Hampshire county. Another small fort 
was built about the same time in Blandford, both for the protec- 

^This name, more frequently rendered "Greylock," is still preserved in Massa- 
•chiisett's history, and is applied to tlie liighest mountain peali in tlie state. Grey- 
lock in northwestern Berkshire county. 

( 62 ) 



COLONIAL WARS 

tion of the settlers and as a convenient resting place for troops 
and travelers jonrneying between the Hudson and Connecticut 
rivers. These forts, in addition to Fort Dummer, were designed 
to afford ample protection to the frontier. Five hundred addi- 
tional men were raised to garrison them, of which number two 
hundred were assigned to the western part of the colony. Cap- 
tain Williams had command of the garrisons, and Col. John Stod- 
dard, of Northampton, had command of the Hampshire county 
regiment, whose duty was to guard the frontier against the enemy 
in general, and especially against the Indians who swarmed in 
the regions of Vermont. In the early part of the war the sav- 
ages made many threatening demonstrations on the borders but 
Avere careful to avoid open conflict Avitli the colonial troops, for 
evidently they had become aware that the latter were hunting 
them with trained dogs, and also that a bounty of thirty pounds 
was offered by the province for every Indian scalp. 

In 1744 and '45 the war waged most bitterly in the pro- 
vinces of New York and Pennsylvania and the west, and at first 
the French were generally victorious. In 1746 the strife ex- 
tended into New England, and on August 20 Fort Massachusetts 
fell before the attack of Marquis de Vaudreuil. It was bravely 
defended by Sergeant John Hawks and twenty-three men, who 
held out twenty-eight hours awaiting expected reinforcements. 
Soon afterward another raid was made in the vicinity of Deer- 
field by a party of Vaudreuil's Indians, who could not resist the 
temptation to attack and injure their former friends in the val- 
ley. In 1747 Fort Massachusetts was rebuilt. In 1748 Cap- 
tain Humphrey Hobbs, with a number of Springfield men, and 
Lieutenant Alexander, with men from Northfield, were sent to 
garrison Fort Shirley, and while en route the party (forty-two 
men all told) was attacked by three hundred Indians, command- 
•ed by a half-breed chief named Saekett (supposed to be the son 
of a white man captured at Westfield), but after a battle of four 
hours the savages retired with considerable loss. 

In 1748 the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle temporarily put an end 
to hostilities, but left unsettled all questions in dispute between 
the contending powers, while the fortresses of Louisburg and 

( 63 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Crown Point were returned to the French without a protest. The 
treaty, however, did not immediately stop Indian depredations, 
but before the end of the summer peace again reigned along the 
frontier. 

The contest from 1744 to 1748 had for its important object 
the possession of the Mississippi valley, which the English 
claimed as an extension of their coast discoveries and settlements, 
and the French by right of occupancy, their forts already ex- 
tending from Canada to Louisiana, and forming "a bow, of 
which the English colonies were the string". 

The war was resumed in 1755, although the formal declara- 
tion was not made until the following year. The necessity for 
united action on the part of the English colonies was now too ap- 
parent to be overlooked, but old differences tended to prevent 
harmony in action. Under the advice of the British ministry 
a convention of delegates from all the colonial assemblies was 
held in Albany, June 14, 1754. One object of the convention 
was to secure a continued alliance with the powerful Six Na- 
tions (Avho now began to show decided leanings toward the 
French), and the other and equally important object was to per- 
fect plans for a decisive campaign against the French in their 
own strongholds. 

Four expeditions were planned : the first to eft'ect the reduc- 
tion of Nova Scotia : the second, to recover the Ohio valley ; the 
third, to expel the French from Fort Niagara and then form a 
junction with the Ohio expedition, and the fourth, to capture 
Crown Point. The first of these expeditions was entirely suc- 
cessful ; the second, under Braddock, was (chiefly through his 
own folly) disastrous in the extreme; the third, under General 
Shirley, was also unsuccessful; and the fourth, while successful 
in the main, was a dearly bought victory for the Hampshire 
county troops. 

The command of the army designed for the reduction of 
Crown Point and the invasion of Canada was entrusted to Brig. 
Gen. William Johnson, Avho was raised from the rank of colonel 
for that purpose. The strength of the force was 5,000 men, of 
whom about one-fifth comprised the Hampshire county regiment 

( 64 ) 



COLONIAL WARS 

under Colonel AVilliams/ In the latter part of August the 
army reached Fort P^dward and Lake George, and there en- 
camped to await reinforcements and also to construct boats to 
carry them to Crown Point by water. On September 8, having 
learned that the enemy were in the vicinity and approaching in 
force under Baron Dieskau, Colonel Williams' Hampshire 
county regiment and about two hundred ]\Iohawk warriors were 
sent out to intercept him ; but the wily Frenchman, having dis- 
covered the hosts of the English, hastily formed an ambuscade, 
into which the latter unsuspectingly walked at a point within 
three and one-half miles from Johnson's camp. The English 
and oNIohawks were attacked so suddenly and fiercely that they 
were thrown into the greatest confusion and fled back to the 
main army. Their jiosition was of the worst possible character, 
and precipitate retreat alone saved them from utter destruction. 
The French attempted to follow up this temporary advantage by 
attacking the main army, but the result was disastrous to the 

^Colonial Ephrnim Williams was one of the bravest and most capable officers 
in the colonial service during the later French and English wars. In the year 
preceding he had been appointed to command the line of fortifications stretching 
across the frontier of Massachusetts, and in 1754 he was commissioned by Gover- 
nor Shirley to command the Hampshire county troops in the campaign against 
Crown Point and the Canadas. Holland says : "Before he left Albany, in the 
campaign that proved fatal to him, he made his will, in which, after assigning to 
several of his relatives and friends appropriate bequests, he directed 'that the 
remainder of his land should be sold, at the discretion of his executors, within 
five years after an established peace ; and that the interest of moneys arising 
from the sale, and also the interest on his notes and bonds, should be applied to 
the support of a free school in a township west of Fort Massachusetts (the local- 
ity of his old command) forever; providing that said township fall within Massa- 
chusetts, upon running the line between Massachusetts and New York, and pro- 
vided the said township when incorporated, shall be called Williamstown.' On 
this basis arose Williams college, one of the noblest and most useful literary insti- 
tutions of New England." 

Col, Israel Williams, of Hatfield, had previously commanded the northern 
regiment of Hampshire county, and it was he who proposed to the Massachusetts 
council the abandonment of some of the old forts on the frontier and the estab- 
lishment of a new and complete line of smaller fortifications, stretching across 
the northern and western frontiers. With slight changes his plans were adopted, 
and when the works were completed Hampshire county was well protected 
against Indian incursions. Capt. Ephraim Williams had command of the old 
line of forts and also was commissioned, with the rank of major, to command the 
new series ; but he was subsequently relieved by Governor Shirley and commis- 
sioned colonel of the Hampshire county regiment that took part in the cam- 
paign against Crown Point and Canada. 



5-1 



( 65 ) 



OUB COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

brave Dieskaii,, ^vllo was Avoimdecl and taken prisoner, while his 
army in turn Avas seriously beaten. But of all the troops en- 
gaged in this battle the Hampshire county contingent suffered 
most heavily, having lost forty-six men killed and twenty-four 
wounded. The entire English loss was 216 killed and twenty- 
four wounded. The Hampshire officers killed were Colonel 
Williams, Major Noah Ashley, Capts. Moses Porter, Jonathan 
Ingersol and Elisha Hawley, Lieuts. Daniel Pomeroy, Simon 
Cobb and Nathaniel Burt (of Longmeadow), and Ensigns John 
Stratton and Keuben Wait. 

Three principal campaigns were planned for 1756 ; one 
against Fort Niagara, a second against Fort Du Quesne, and the 
third against Crown Point, with the ultimate intention of pos- 
sessing the Champlain valley and the strongholds of the French 
in Canada. But notwithstanding the elaborate character of 
these campaigns no substantial gains were made by the English 
during the year, while the French were active everywhere. The 
Hampshire county troops were on the frontier, but the Indians 
scarcely penetrated the country beyond the cordon of forts es- 
tablished two years before by Colonel Williams. 

In 1757 the campaign was arranged by the English in pro- 
portions equal to that of the previous year, and similar results 
were achieved. The war in America now had assumed an inter- 
national character on both sides, and the leading military men 
of the colonies had no voice in the councils and very little to do 
except to obey the orders issued by the inefficient officers sent by 
the crown ; and knowing nothing of the Indian character and the 
savage method of warfare, these orders almost invariably were 
wrong and resulted disastrously to the colonists. 

The principal campaign of the year was that designed to 
oppose the progress of Montcalm, who held the Champlain val- 
ley and threatened the English posts to the southward, in the 
valleys of the Hudson and Connecticut rivers. But instead of 
taking the aggressive, the English acted on the defensive. Mont- 
calm laid siege to Fort William Henry, and after a stout resist- 
ance Colonel Monroe was forced to surrender, although only 
fifteen miles away lay General Webb (at Fort Edward) with 

( 66 ) 



COLONIAL WARS 

4,000 effective men. It was the rank cowardice of Webb that 
lost both of these strong posts when he possessed the men and 
means to achieve a signal victory over the French; but as the 
result of his contemptible action southeastern New York and all 
of New England was practically laid open to the enemy. 

Although the campaign of the previous year had been one 
of disaster to the English, that very fact seemed to infuse a little 
spirit into the ministry through that gifted statesman, William 
Pitt. A million and a half of people inhabited the British colo- 
nies, and an army of some 50,000 men was subject to the com- 
mand of Abercrombie. Commercial intercourse with the mother 
country was almost untrammeled, and there seemed no sufficient 
reason why the French power should not have been extinguished 
in one grand movement. The predominance of the English, 
however, was considerably impaired by the fact that the French 
had gained stronger influence with the Indians, and the Canadian 
population was more concentrated, while above all, the French 
cause was under command of by far the most able and brilliant 
men. In the language of a contemporary, "Britain had sent to 
her colonies effete generals, bankrupt nobles and debauched para- 
sites of the court ; France selected her functionaries from the 
wisest, noblest and best of her people, and therefore her colonial 
interests were usually directed with sagacity. ' ' 

The English had supposed that Montcalm would follow up 
his victories by invading the province of Massachusetts, and 
therefore took immediate steps to oppose his progress. To this 
end Governor Pownal ordered a large body of militia and all the 
cavalry of the province to Springfield, to be placed at the disposal 
of Sir AVilliam Pepperell, lieutenant-general of the province, a 
new and unknown officer and the holder of a rank previously 
unknoAvn in the colony. But Sir AVilliam was an officer of the 
crown, and was supposed to be more than able to cope with the 
enemy under Montcalm, whose advance was expected during the 
season. A regiment of artillery was ordered to be raised and to 
rendezvous at the same place, and previous to this time Spring- 
field was designated as a depository for a large quantity of muni- 
tions of war. military stores and provisions. 

( 67 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

In relation to the events of local importance in connection 
Avith the latter part of the French and English war, Mr. Holland 
says: "Sir William was ordered, in case of the advance of the 
eneni}^, to have the wheels strnck otf all the wagons west of the 
Connecticut, to drive in the cattle and horses, and to make a 
stand on the east side. The similar order, given eighty years 
before, for the inhabitants of the west side to repair to the east, 
will show how comparatively slow and painful had been the prog- 
ress of settlement during this long and disturbed period. The 
garrisons at Fort Massachusetts and West Hoosac were strength- 
ened, and preparations made in every quarter for defense against 
a foe which never came. When it was found that JNIontcalm 
was content with the advantages he had gained, and had retired 
to Ticonderoga and Crown Point, the troops were recalled, and 
the usual garrisons reduced to their ordinary force. From this 
time until the surrender of the Canadian province to Great Brit- 
ain in 1760, no events of special interest occurred in the western 
part of the Massachusetts colony, except the closing acts of In- 
dian hostility that took place on the 20th and 21st of jNIarch, 
1758." 

The domination of France in America Avas ended by the fall 
of Quebec, September 18, 1759, thus leaving the English masters 
of all Canada, for the surrender of Vaudreuil on September 8, 
of the next year, was an inevitable result. Although hostilities 
between the two nations had now ceased, a formal peace was not 
established until 1763, when, on February 10, the treaty of 
Paris was signed, by which France ceded to Great Britain all her 
possessions in Canada. 



( 68 ) 



CHAPTER VII 
WAR OF THE REVOLUTION 

The years immediately preceding the revolution were filled 
with important events connected with the history of Hampshire 
county ; and in no part of the entire region of western Massa- 
chusetts was there shown more determined loyalty to the cause 
for which the American colonists were contending than in that 
part of the mother territory which was afterward set off to form 
Hampden county. 

The political situation in Hampshire county during the 
revolution, and indeed for several years previous, was novel and 
interesting, since it included influences politically antagonistic, 
while socially there was no unfriendliness among the pioneers. 
They had stood togeth-er, shoulder to shoulder, in many a hard 
fought battle with the savages whom in earlier years they had 
fed, warmed and clothed, and now their interests were too nearly 
identical to admit of serious division on the question of loyalty 
to the crown or loyalty to the cause of the American colonists. 
Undoubtedly there existed in the Connecticut valley a diversity 
of sentiment as to the rights of the British ministry and the obli- 
gations of the colonists, but there was no feeling that at any time 
took the form of organized opposition to the strong measures 
adopted by the Americans in resisting the unjust burdens sought 
to be put upon them by the mother country. A careful examina- 
tion of the political sentiment in the valley at the time referred 
to leads to the conclusion that the patriots were very strongly in 
the majority, and if there were a few scattered "loyalists" in 
the region, they were exceedingly timid in expressing their views. 
In other words, the "Tory" element of population in Hampshire 

( 69 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

county at the beginning of or during the Avar for independence 
was too weak to be a factor in any circle of public affairs. 

The taxation to which the colonists Avere subjected by the 
mother country really began almost as far back as the time of 
the overthrow of the Dutch power in America, for it seems to 
have been the king's determination to make them self-supporting 
even from the beginning. At the close of the last French war 
the burden of debt was very heavy on Great Britain, but it 
chiefly Avas created by the Avars in Avhich she had engaged on her 
OAvn side of the Atlantic. That portion, hoAvever, incurred by 
the Avars on this continent she proposed to be paid by the colo- 
nies, notAAathstanding the great increase of her domain through 
these wars. 

The time at length arrived Avhen tame submission to British 
imposition could no longer be endured. The colonists them- 
selves Avere heavily burdened Avith the expenses of the French 
Avars, Avhich resulted so favorably to England, yet almost before 
the smoke of the battles had cleared away the ministry began de- 
vising plans to tax them Avithout their consent. In 1764 a proposi- 
tion Avas submitted to the house of commons for raising a reve- 
nue in the colonies by the sale of stamps, and a bill to that effect 
Avas passed in March, 1765. It Avas bitterly denounced in the 
colonies, especially in Ncav York and Boston, and the ''Sons of 
Liberty" Avere organized to oppose the obnoxious laAV. So great 
Avas the popular indignation that parliament finally repealed the 
act, but this Avas done more to satisfy English tradesmen than 
to relieve a distressed people ; and in its place Avere enacted other 
equally oppressive laAvs, one of Avhich required the colonies to 
pay for maintaining a British army in Ncav York city. 

In 1767 a bill Avas passed by parliament imposing a duty on 
tea, glass, lead, paper and painter's colors imported by the colo- 
nies. This rencAved the opposition, and in the folloAving year 
the Massachusetts assembly addressed a circular letter to the sis- 
ter colonies soliciting their aid in defense of the common liberties. 
More retaliation folloAved, for the British ministry Avas so wrath- 
ful that a letter Avas sent to each of the colonial governors for- 
bidding their assemblies to correspond with. Massachusetts. This 

( 70 ) 



WAB OF THE REVOLUTION 

mandate, however, was ignored and most of the assemblies ac- 
companied their disobedience with declarations of inherent rights 
together with denunciations of parliament, and the people gen- 
erally sustained their representatives in their action. 

^Meanwhile the dnties had been removed from all articles ex- 
cept tea, and for a time colonial affairs moved more smoothly. 
The East India company, conscious of the injustice in placing a 
duty on tea, tried to have the latter removed, but in vain, for the 
ministry still boasted its right to tax the colonies ; and to enforce 
the British claim, in 17C8 General Gage with a thousand troops 
was stationed in Boston. The soldiers of the crown openly in- 
sulted peaceful citizens, made arrests on specious pretexts, and in 
every way tried to overawe the populace with the show of force. 
A little later on two other regiments and seven armed vessels 
sailed into the harbor, and even then the spirit of liberty w^ould 
not be restrained, for when three ships laden wdth dutiable tea 
anchored in the harbor, there followed the event which has ever 
been known as the "Boston Tea Party." In retaliation for this 
bold defiance the ministry closed the port of Boston against all 
commerce— an outrage Avhich awoke national indignation. Pub- 
lic meetings were held to consider the common grievances, and 
among the plans suggested for mutual protection was the assem- 
bling of a colonial congress. 

The "Continental Congress" was held in Philadelphia in 
September, 1774, and having adopted a declaration of rights, it 
added a petition to the king and an appeal to the people of Great 
Britain and Canada. The delegates from Massachusetts were 
James Boudoine, Thomas Gushing, Samuel Adams, John Adams 
and Kobert Treat Paine. The congress first expressed approval 
of what had been done by the people of Boston and Massachu- 
setts, "warmly exhorted them to persevere in the cause of free- 
dom, and voted that contributions should be made for them in 
all the provinces." 

"The inclinations of the people were in exact accordance 
with the decision of the congress. The inhabitants of Boston 
were supplied by contributions from all quarters. Even those 
who by their station seemed likely to derive advantage from the 

( n ) 



OLE COVNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

cessation of their trade were most forward to relieve them in 
their distress. The people of Marblehead ottered them the use 
of their harbor, wharves and warehouses free of expense. Every 
one who could procure arms was diligent in learning their use." 

"Complete unanimity, however, did not exist. Some of the 
late emigrants on whom England had bestowed offices, and many 
who feared her power, clung to her authority and declared them- 
selves her adherents. Whigs and Tories were the distinguishing 
names of the parties. The former favored the cause of the colo- 
nists ; the latter that of Great Britain."^ 

In Boston, which city was the center of interest and patriot- 
ism in the early years of the revolution, there was little of the 
tory element and influence, although the soldiers of the king were 
on every hand. There the people were either "loyalists" or 
"patriots." 

General Gage, who also was governor under appointment of 
the crown, having a large number of red coats quartered on Bos- 
ton common and elsewhere in the city, thought prudent to fortify 
the narrow strip of land which connected the city with the main- 
land; and he also took forcible possession of a quantity of pow- 
der, ammunition and other military stores collected by the pro- 
vincials at Cambridge and Charlestown. 

In the latter part of September a call was made for a meet- 
ing of the provincial assembly, but almost immediately the gov- 
ernor forbade the sitting; but despite the executive injunction 
the representatives met at Salem, and after waiting a day for the 
governor's arrival (as a matter of form only) they declared 
themselves a "provincial congress," electing John Hancock presi- 
dent and assuming charge of the governmental affairs of the col- 
ony. The delegates adjourned to Concord, and on reassembling 
the congress resolved, "that for the defense of the province a 
military force to consist of one-fourth of the militia should be or- 
ganized and stand ready to march at a minute's warning." Thus 
originated that remarkable body of INIassachusetts soldiery 
known as "Minute Men." Before the adjournment of the con- 

^Willard's "Republic of America." 

( 72 ) 



^yAR OF THE EEVOLUTION 

■gress, a committee of safety was appointed to act when the gen- 
eral body was not in session. 

Soon after the work of the provincial congress began to as- 
sume definite form in the organization of means of defense. Gen- 
eral Gage was informed that the colonists had collected a number 
of field pieces at Salem, and sent a body of soliders to take them, 
in the name of the king; but it appears that the assertion of the 
•crown's authority had not the awe-inspiring effect of former 
years, and when the soldiers were advanced to a bridge which 
they must cross, the little provincial army had removed the 
''draw," hence the king's soldiers were compelled to return to 
Boston without having accomplished their purpose. 

Gage's next order to his troops was more eventful, for it pre- 
•cipitated the revolution ; a struggle which in the order of things 
must come, though neither side was fully prepared for it at the 
time. However, in a defensive warfare the Americans had been 
taught by a century and more of almost constant strife^ to be pre- 
pared for any emergency that might arise. 

In April, 1775, having been informed that the Americans 
had collected a large quantity of ammunition and military stores 
at Concord, General Gage sent Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn 
with eight hundred British soldiers to seize and destroy what- 
ever the ' ' rebels ' ' had deposited there. Concord was about twenty 
miles distant from Boston. The British were directed to "pro- 
ceed with the utmost expedition and with all possible secrecy," 
their commander evidently having in mind the failure that at- 

^In commenting on the character and condition of the inhabitants of the 
•Connecticut valley at the close of the last French and English war, Holland 
truthfully and aptly says : "Prom the first settlement at Springfield until the 
conquest of Canada in 1760. a series of one hundred and twenty-four years had 
passed away, and by far the larger part of this time the inhabitants of the terri- 
tory embraced in old Hampshire had been exposed to the dangers, the fears, the 
toils and trials of Indian wars or border depredations. Children had been born, 
had grown up to manhood, and descended to old age. knowing little or nothing 
■of peace and tranquillity. Hundreds had been icilled and large numbers carried 
into captivity. Men. women and children had been butchered by scores. There 
is hardly a square acre, certainly not a square mile, in the Connecticut valley, 
that has not been tracl^ed by the flying feet of fear, resounded with the groan 
of the dying, drunls the blood of the dead, or served as the scene of toils made 
<Joubly toilsome by the apprehension of danger that never slept." 

( ^3 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

tended the raid on the Salem supply of stores. But notwith- 
standing the stringency of the order, the provincials were pre- 
pared to receive the soldiers of the king on their arrival at Lex- 
ington, five miles from Concord, on the morning of the 18th of 
April. The British found the militia drawn up on the parade 
(common) ready to receive them. The advance line of regulars 
approached within musket shot, when j\lajor Pitcairn rode forward 
and exclaimed ' ' Disperse, you rebels ; throw dovm. your arms and 
disperse. ' ' But the order not being obeyed immediately, he dis- 
charged his pistol and commanded his men to fire. They did 
fire and eight men were killed. The militia then dispersed, but 
the firing continued. The British troops proceeded to Concord 
and took possession of the stores deposited there. 

Thus was begun the war for independence— the American 
revolution, as known in the history of nations ; a struggle which 
continued for years and ultimately resulted in the establishment 
of a new system of government on the western continent, a free 
and independent republic, thenceforth to be known and recog- 
nized among the powers of the earth as the United States of 
America. 

After the British had completed their work of destruction at 
Concord and begun the return march to Boston, the provincials, 
followed them closely on all sides, attacking them so savagely 
that the triumphant march of the victors became a disorderly re- 
treat. At Lexington the British were reinforced by nine hundred 
men under Lord Percy, still on every side they received a galling, 
killing fire, until they reached the heights of Bunker Hill and 
camped for the night under the protection of a British man of 
war that lay in the bay. The loss to the British in the first bat- 
tle of the revolution was two hundred and seventy-three men, 
while the provincials lost eighty-eight men. 

Almost before the echoes of Lexington's guns had died away, 
mounted couriers were speeding across the country to the remote 
towns of jNlassachusetts, sounding the alarm in every locality and 
calling the minute men into immediate action. On April 19 the 
news reached Springfield and Northampton and other settlements 
in the valley, and on the morning of the 20th the militia of every 
town were marching toward Boston on the old "Bay road." 

( 74 ) 



^YAR OF THE BEVOLUTION 

The original order left by the courier in Springfield has 
been preserved among the papers in the city clerk's office, and 
reads as follo^vs : 

"WatertoAvn, Wednesday Morning, 10 o'clock. 

"To all friends of American liberty: Be it known that 
this morning before break of day a brigade consisting of about 
1,000 or 1,200 men landed at Phips farm in Cambridge and 
marched to Lexington, where they found a company of our col- 
ony militia in arms ; upon whom they fired without any provoca- 
tion and killed six and wounded four others. By an express this 
moment from Boston we find another brigade are now on their 
march from Boston, supposed to be about 1,000. 

"The bearer, Mr. Isaac Russell, (is) charged to alarm the 
country quite to Connecticut, and all persons are desired to fur- 
nish him with such horses as they may be needed. 

' ' I have spoken with several persons who have seen the dead 
and wounded. 

"Pray let the delegates from this colony to Connecticut see 
this. 



They know 



'J. Palmer 



"One of the Com. of S y 

"Col. Foster is one of the delegates 

"A true Coppy" 

In the old county of Hampshire the call to arms found the 
militia^ prepared for the emergency, and the tidings of battle 
occasioned little surprise. In the early summer of 1774 county 

^The Hampshire county minute men who marched to Boston on the occasion 
of the Lexington alarm, having enlisted for eight months, were there reorganized 
and served in different regiments. Col. Timothy Danielson, of Brimfield, had 
command of one regiment, in which were 61 men from Springfield under Capt. 
Gideon Burt, 1st Lieut. Walter Pynchon and 2d Lieut. Aaron Steel. Westfleld 
sent a full company of 70 men — and all Westfleld men — under Capt. Warham 
Parks and Lieuts. John Shepard and Richard Falley. West Springfield sent 53 
men under Capt. Enoch Chapin, 1st Lieut. Samuel Flower and 2d Lieut. Luke 
Day. Blandford and Murrayfield sent a company of 36 men under Capt. John 
Ferguson. Granville furnished 60 men under Capt. Lebbeus Ball and 1st Lieut. 
Lemuel Bancroft of Southwick. Besides Col. Danielson, the other regimental 
ofiicers were Lieut.-Col. William Shepard, of Westfleld, and Major David Lom- 
bard. 

( 75 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

congresses were assembled in Northampton and Springfield, and 
the people almost to a man declared themselves on the side of the 
colonists. Delegates were sent to the provincial congress that 
disputed the authority of Governor Gage, and in accordance with 
the recommendation of that body, every town in the county or- 
ganized and equipped its company of minute men, and nearly 
all appropriated money for the purchase of powder and lead. 

On September 22 and 23 (1774) a convention of the com- 
mittees of safety from each town in the county, except Charle- 
mont and Southwick, was held in Northampton, "to consult 
upon measures to be taken in this time of general distress in the 
province," etc. Timothy Danielson, of Brimfield, was chosen 
chairman and Ebenezer Hunt, jr., of Northampton, clerk of the 
convention. After a somewhat prolonged discussion, a com- 
mittee of nine reported a series of resolutions similar to those 
adopted by other county congresses, which were passed. 

"In substance the resolutions were," says Holland, "that 
the county did not intend to withdraw from allegiance to the 
king; that the charter of the province ought to be kept inviolate, 
and that the inhal)itants had not violated it: that the subversive 
acts of the British parliament, being before the continental con- 
gress, they would not act with regard to them ; that the acts of 
Governor Gage were destructive of their rights, and that it was 
doubtful whether he was the constitutional governor, and 
whether his acts ought to be of any validity, ' ' etc. 

The leading events of the revolution took place outside the 
limits of Hampshire county, and not once during the period of 
the war was hostile foot set on its soil. Still, in the war the 
county played an important part, and Springfield was a central 
point of operations. The town was an appointed rendezvous 
for troops, an important military depot, and at one period can- 
non were made there. On the order of General Gates, General 
Mattoon came from Amherst with a number of men and took the 
cannon to Saratoga, and they were used with telling effect in 
that memorable battle in 1777, when the British received their 
first decisive check at the hands of the Americans. 

Within ten days after the call to arms nearly 20,000 minute 
men were assembled in the vicinity of Boston, but General Gage 

( 76 ) 



WAR OF THE REVOLUTION 

had so fortified his position that an attack was useless, while, on 
the other hand, the British force was too weak to attack the 
Americans. Gradually a part of the latter withdrew and at- 
tached themselves to other commands, while still others, whose 
immediate service was not required, returned to their homes. 
]Many of them were again called into service in June following, 
when the Americans established a fortified camp on Breed's hill, 
thereby hoping to prevent Gage from threatened invasion of the 
province ; and there were Hampshire men in the battle which 
was fought on the morning of June 17, when the British went 
out in force to dislodge the Americans from their position on the 
hill. At length they were compelled to retire, but not until 
they had tAvice repulsed the enemy and their OAvn ammunition 
was exhausted. In the battle — always known as "Bunker Hill" 
— the Americans lost 450 and the British 1,050 men. General 
Warren was killed, yet Colonel Prescott was the real commander 
of the provincials during the fight. These officers had been 
elected by the troops, and thus far no recognized military system 
was established. The men fought independently, but they 
fought viciously, and every onward step of the enemy was made 
at the cost of many men. 

On June 15, 1775, two days before the battle of Bunker 
Hill, the continental congress appointed George Washington 
commander-in-chief of the American army. Soon afterward he 
visited Boston to take command of the troops in that locality ; 
and on the journey thither he passed through Springfield, tak- 
ing the "Boston road," and resting under the protecting 
branches of the "Washington elm," in the town of Palmer. 

Arrived at Boston, Washington found about 14,000 minute 
men, patriots every one, willing to fight under his leadership, but 
unfortunately they had no knowledge of military methods and 
discipline. On June 25 the general court ordered that 5,000 
men be raised in this province, and of the number Hampshire 
county's quota was 754. Springfield was required to furnish 
forty-four, Brimfield seventeen, Wilbraham twenty-four. West 
Springfield forty-eight, and AYestfield thirty-one men. The 
troops raised in the county, comprising just a battalion, were in- 

( 77 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

tended for service in Canada and on the northern frontier, and 
they were offered a bounty of seven pounds each. During the 
first winter in the northern region their sufferings were terrible 
and the people at home were taxed to their utmost capacity to 
provide them with proper clothing and blankets. In January, 
1776, an order of the general court required that three hundred 
blankets be furnished by the county, Springfield's portion being 
twelve, Wilbraham's six, and Westfield 's thirty-two. 

In April, 1777, two battalions of 750 men each were ordered 
raised in Hampshire county, for two months' service at Ticon- 
deroga. On February 5 a convention of the committees of 
safety of the several towns of the county was held at Northamp- 
ton "for the purpose of taking into consideration the suffering 
condition of the northern army, ' ' and in order to furnish imme- 
diate relief to the men from old Hampshire, the supplies were 
at once forwarded, ' ' not doubting that the general court will ap- 
prove thereof, ' ' as the proceedings recite. 

Next to the sufferings of the troops the committees' greatest 
anxiety was the annoying attitude of the tories of the county, 
who had taken hope and courage through the success of the Brit- 
ish in the contest thus far waged. Addressing their grievances 
to the general court, the committees say: "Ever since our army 
retreated from New York, and the inhumane ravage of the Brit- 
ish troops in the Jersies, our inimical brethren have appeared 
with an insulting air, and have exerted themselves to intimidate 
weak minds by threatening speeches, saying that the day was 
over ^vith us." 

"Their reflections on the General Court, openly declaring 
that our Honorable Court of this State had made acts that were 
unjust, respecting the last raised recruits, declaring that the 
committees or selectmen dare as well be damned as to draught 
them for the army, and that, if they were draughted, they would 
rather fight against our own men than against our enemies." 

Notwithstanding the seriousness of this charge on the part 
of the zealous committees, the general court seems not to have 
taken cognizance of the matter, but to have left the patriots to 
work out their punishment upon the offenders in due course of 

( 78 ) 



VAE OF THE REVOLUTIOX 

time ; and the day of reckoning did come and righteous retribu- 
tion was visited on all British sympathizers who dare not openly 
fight for the king through fear of losing their property by con- 
fiscation. It appears not to have been the policy of Massachu- 
setts to take away the lands and chattels of those who differed 
with the Americans during the revolution, but in other states, 
particularly in New York, large estates were forfeited, and were 
sold to raise means to prosecute the war. 

In April, 1778, two thousand men were required to be raised 
to fill up the fifteen continental battalions which the state had 
furnished, the Hampshire quota being 242 men; and a fine oP 
twenty pounds was imposed as a penalty upon those who refused 
to go. ( In this way the general court got its first fling at the 
Tories.) The term of service was nine months, each man being 
allowed six pence a mile for traveling and $6 for a blanket. On 
the same day another order called for 1,300 men for service on 
North (Hudson) river, this county being reciuired to send 182 
men. Later on 199 more men were called for from the county 
to serve in Eliode Island, but afterward this order was modified, 
and 100 men from the south part of the county were sent to 
Ehode Island, and the remainder joined Gen. John Stark in Al- 
bany. 

In June, 1779, an order was issued for 102 men from Hamp- 
shire county to serve in Rhode Island until the following Janu- 
ary, and to be paid sixteen pounds per month in addition to the 
regular continental pay. At the same time 2,000 more men were 
ordered to be raised to fill up the ranks of the fifteen continental 
battalions of the state. The troops raised under this call were 
to rendezvous at Springfield, and Justin Ely was to care for and 
turn them over to the officers sent to receive them. The term 
of service was nine months, and the penalty for refusing to serve 
was forty-five pounds. Of this number of men 228 were re- 
quired from this county. In October following 450 more men 
were asked from loyal old Hampshire, to serve in co-operation 
with the French allies of the Americans. The penalty for re- 
fusing to obey this call was fifty pounds. The men received as 
pay sixteen pounds per month in addition to regular pay, and 

( 79 ) 



^yAR OF THE BEVOLITION 

also received a bounty of thirty pounds from the towns from 
which they enlisted. 

In addition to the many men called for by the military au- 
thorities, old Hampshire county was asked to contribute clothing 
for the use of the men in the field. In 1778 a general order was 
issued calling for sheets, shoes and stockings for the army, and 
AVilliam Scott, of Palmer, was apopinted collecting agent for the 
county. In 1779 another call for clothing was made, and the 
practice was continued throughout the period of the war. 

These supplies were furnished willingly, although the inhab- 
itants were seriously burdened with expenses growing out of the 
contest. Mr. Holland describes them as an "immense draught 
upon the physical resources of Western INIassachusetts, in con- 
nection with the other sections of the state and country. " "So 
weak," writes he, "became the towns after two or three years 
had passed away, so necessary was it to remain at home for the 
maintenance of wives and children, that many of these requisi- 
tions were not complied with, the draughted men paying their 
fines and refusing to leave their homes. It is recorded in a jour- 
nal kept by the minister in Westfield, at that time, that when, on 
the 13th of May, 1778, a requisition was made for men from that 
town 'Noah Cobley and Paul Noble went, and David Fowler, 
Roger Bagg, Enoch Holcomb, Joseph Dewey, Simeon Stiles, 
Jacob Noble, Benjamin Sexton, John Moxley, ]Martin Root, 
Stephen Fowler, Eli Granger, Roger Noble and Daniel Fowler 
paid their fines." 

Although the contest between Great Britain and her former 
American colonies was virtually at an end in 1780, a formal peace 
was not established until the treaty of Paris was signed, Septem- 
ber 3, 1783. The closing years of the struggle found Great Brit- 
ain in actual conflict with several European powers, yet she suc- 
ceeded in resisting them and kept reinforcing her American 
armies with fresh supplies of troops. At length, however, all 
hope of subduing her rebellious subjects had vanished, and the 
English people clamored loudly for a discontinuance of the war. 
Soon afterward the house of commons voted "that they should 
consider as enemies to his majesty and their country, all who 



6-1 



( 81 ) 




ai 



WAR OF THE REVOLUTION 

should advise or attempt a further prosecution of offensive war 
on the continent of America." 

THE UNITED STATES ARMORY. 

The establishment of a national armory or gun works at 
Springfield had its inception in an act of congress passed in 1776, 
by which the suggestion was niade that jNIassachusetts construct 
an armory at Brookfield for manufacture of arms, cartridges and 
other munitions of war. It had been the first intention of Gen- 
eral Washington to found the works at Hartford, but on the rep- 
resentation of Col. David Mason to General Knox that Spring- 
field was a more suitable location, the act finally designated that 
town as the site of the establishment. Colonel Mason had served 
as an artillery officer in the last French and English war, and he, 
under the committee of safety of INIassachusetts, collected at 
Salem the cannon and military stores which the British in 1775 
sought to capture. In 1776 several cannon were cast in Spring- 
field, and gave excellent service during the next year in the bat- 
tle at Saratoga. Colonel Mason was placed in charge of the 
works at Springfield, and under his direction was founded that 
which has proved one of the most extensive labor employing in- 
dustries in New England. 

In treating of the early history of the armory one authority 
says: "Before and at the time of the adoption of the constitu- 
tion of the United States, there were standing in the town of 
Springfield, on land owned by the town, divers buildings erected 
and occupied by the United States as arsenals, in which they then 
had, and always since have had, large quantities of guns and 
other military stores : and one building erected by them as a pow- 
der magazine." 

On April 2, 1794, congress passed an act authorizing the 
erection and maintenance of arsenals and magazines for military 
purposes ; and in accordance with the act, on June 22, 1795, land 
on Mill river was purchased by the secretary of state, in trust 
for the United States. On INIay 14, 1798, congress authorized 
the president to lease or purchase land for the erection of foun- 
dries for the manufacture of cannon and armories for the con- 

( 83 ) 



WAR OF THE REVOLUTION 

strnction of small arms. On June 25, 1798, a law of this com- 
mon-wealth gave consent that the United States purchase land in 
Springfield, not exceeding 640 acres in extent, "for the sole pur- 
pose of erecting forts, magazines, arsenals and other needful 
buildings. ' ' 

The armory was established in 1794, and in the next year 
the manufacture of arms was begun. The first land purchase 
on jNIill river was made in 1793, and in that location the forgings 
for arms were made. A second tract on the river was acquired 
in 1798. The committee to superintend the transfer of title to 
the government comprised George Bliss, John Hooker and Wil- 
liam Ely. The upper watershops were built in 1809. The tract 
known as "Federal square" was purchased in 1812. 

By various purchases under the acts and proceedings men- 
tioned in preceding paragraphs the government became owner 
of a considerable tract of land in the town of Springfield, much 
of which is now very valuable. In the early years of the past 
century the old training ground, on which the first armory build- 
ings were erected, was outside the business and residence district 
of Springfield, but with constant municipal growth the entire 
region was subseciuently built up. Much good has come to the 
town from this institution, although the inhabitants of West 
Springfield protested against a proposition to erect the shops in 
that town, on the ground that the expected presence of a soldier 
element in that locality would have a demoralizing tendency 
upon the youth and otherwise disturb the well-being of the com- 
munity. 

Since the works began operations no large bodies of troops 
have been quartered there, while at times several thousand me- 
chanics have been employed in the manufacture of arms and am- 
munition. The old magazine, which was built in a piece of 
woods, at one time was regarded as a menace to the safety of the 
locality, was removed in 1846, and a public street was laid out 
over its site. 

It cannot be considered within the proper scope of the pres- 
ent chapter to follow in detail the history of the armory, its 
buildings and properties, yet in the growth of Springfield as a 

{ 85 ) 



OVR COVNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

city it has been a factor for good for more than a century. The 
number of employees has varied with the requirements of the 
government. At times during the war of 1861-65 as many as 
3,500 men were employed, and in 1866 the number of muskets 
made reached the extraordinary sum of almost 277,000. In 1795 
only 275 guns were made, and only forty men were employed. 
In 1811, just before the second war with Great Britain, the num- 
ber increased to more than 12,000. About the time of the war 
with jNIexico there was another period of increased activity, and 
again, at the outbreak of the war with Spain, the works were run 
with a full complement of men. The north shops and the west 
arsenal were burned in 1824. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE INSURRECTION OF 1786-87— THE SHAYS REBELLION 

"The history^ of the insurrection in Massachusetts— com- 
monly called the 'Shays rebellion'— is interesting as the record 
of the only serious attempt ever made against the authority of 
the state government. The insurrection having first taken an 
organized form in the Connecticut valley, and having here met 
its final overthrow, the preservation of local facts concerning it 
is expressly within the province of this society." 

"The insurrection was the result of a condition of things 
now popularly known as 'hard times.' It did not originate so 
much in disaffection toward the state government as in an un- 
controllable impulse of a distressed people to seek relief in some 
way, or any way. The long and burdensome war- of the revo- 

'Compiled from William L. Smith's historical address, published in Conn. 
Val. Hist. Society's collections. 

=At the close of the war the state debt amounted to more than 1,300,000 
pounds, and there was due the Massachusetts officers and soldiers not less than 
250,000 pounds, while the proportion of the federal debt for which the state was 
responsible was at least 1,500.000 pounds. Every town was also in debt for 
supplies it had furnished its soldiers. — Holland. 

( 86 ) 



THE SHAYS REBELLION 

lution had just been brought to a close. The country was im- 
poverished. The continental paper money had become worth- 
less, and no substitute for it had been provided. There was no 
trade, no demand for labor, no way in which the value of prop- 
erty of any kind could be measured. Under the barbarous laws 
then in force, the jails were becoming filled with prisoners whose 
only offense was their inability to pay their debts. JNIen w^ho 
had nothing to do but to talk about their grievances and dis- 
tresses were excited to turbulence, and local disturbances were 
frequent and serious. The authorities were too often in sym- 
pathy with the off'enders against the law, and guilty parties went 
unpunished. The state constitution, adopted in 1780, was 
viewed with disfavor by a large minority of the people, and w-as 
not regarded as securely established. The constitution of the 
United States had not then been framed, and all existing govern- 
ment was merely experimental." 

"There was at that time no law for the equitable distribu- 
tion of a debtor's property among his creditors. The executions 
of the creditors were levied in the order in which their attach- 
ments were made, and each creditor was satisfied in his turn un- 
til all were paid, or the debtor's estate was exhausted. A man 
whose credit was suspected found his property covered by at- 
tachments at once, and in the condition of things then existing 
a very slight circumstance excited suspicion. Litigation became 
general. The state was showered with executions, and large 
amounts of property were sold, for almost nothing, to satisfy 
them. In the unreasoning excitement of the time, the courts, 
laAvyers and sheriff's were denounced in the wildest terms as the 
promoters of the suffering that men were inflicting upon each 
other. A cry arose that the courts ought to be abolished. 
Threats were made that the courts should not be allowed to sit, 
that no more suits should be entered and no more executions 
issued. It was such a wild clamor as this that led to the first 
overt act in resistance to the lawful authority." 

"There was no general insurrection until the summer of 
1786, but as early as 1783 a bold attempt was made at Spring- 
field to break up the session of the court of common pleas. The 

( 87 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

']\Iassachiisetts Gazette and General Advertiser,' then printed in 
Springfield, of May 27, gives this account of it: 'On Tuesday 
last, being the day on which the general sessions of the peace and 
the court of common pleas opened in this town, a banditti, col- 
lected from the obscure corners of the county, composed of men 
of the most infamous character, to the amount of about sixty in 
number, met in this town to prevent the sitting of the court. 
. . . They showed no disposition to attack the courts in the 
forenoon ; at two o 'clock they met at a public house 
in the town, and resolved themselves to be a convention of the 
county, met together for the purpose of redressing grievances; 
after having passed several important resolves they adjourned 
their convention to the elm tree near the court house; when the 
bell rang for the court, they, in hostile parade, armed with white 
bludgeons cut for that purpose, marched before the door of the 
court house, and when the court, headed bj'" the sheriff, came to 
the door, with insolence opposed their entrance; the sheriff, in 
mild tones of persuasion, addressing them as gentlemen, desired 
them to make way. His civility was repaid with outrage, and an 
action soon commenced ; happily there was a collection of people 
friendly to the government present, and the mob was repulsed 
with broken heads. A number of them were instantly taken 
and committed to prison; after which, by a regular procedure, 
they were brought before the court of sessions for examination, 
and were bound to appear before the supreme court.' " 

' ' The court house then stood on the east side of Main street, 
directly opposite Meeting-house lane, which has since become Elm 
street. Its site is now occupied by Sanford street. The elm 
tree under which the rioters held their 'convention' stood on the 
east side of jNIain street, and two or three rods south of the court 
house. ' ' 

"The legislature of 1786 was elected at a time of great ex- 
citement. Many of the men who had hitherto been entrusted 
with the responsibilities of legislation, and were prominent in the 
service of the state, were superseded by inexperienced and, in 
many eases, by utterly unfit persons. Patriots of the revolu- 
tion, whose eloquence had aroused the spirit that carried the 

( 88 ) 



THE SHAYS BEBELLION 

country triumphantly through the war of independence, were de- 
feated as candidates merely because they happened to be lawyers. 
When the legislature assembled various visionary schemes were 
brought forward, among them a proposition that the state should 
go into the business of manufacturing paper money. 
The legislature proceeded deliberately, influenced no doubt by 
the conservative sentiment of Boston, and finally rejected the 
proposition ; and the senate stood firmly in the way of other dan- 
gerous schemes. Thereupon there arose a new clamor. It was 
declared that the senate should be abolished and that the legisla- 
ture should not continue to hold its sessions at Boston ; and the 
agitators proceeded to supplement their declamations by formal 
organization. ' ' 

' ' On the 28tli of August delegates from fifty towns in Hamp- 
shire county met in convention at Hatfield and held a session of 
three days. . . . The paper money party was in strong 
force. The men who 'had fought for liberty and meant to have 
it, ' were there : and liberty, as they understood it, was defined by 
one of their leaders in a speech at West Springfield. Liberty, 
he said, 'is for every man to do as he pleases, and to make other 
folks do as you please to have them. ' ' ' 

"The convention solemnly voted 'that this meeting is con- 
stitutional,' and issued a declaration of its purposes. . . . 
They wanted, among various other things, a revisal of the state 
constitution, the abolition of the senate and of the court of com- 
mon pleas, and more paper money. The convention called upon 
other counties to organize, and took care to go through the form 
of advising the people to abstain from all mobs and unlawful as- 
semblies. ' ' 

"The events of the next few days furnished a practical con- 
struction of the convention's declaration against mobs and un- 
lawful assemblies. The last Tuesday of August was the day 
fixed by law for the term of the court of common pleas at North- 
ampton. Some 1,500 men took possession of the court house, 
and prevented the sitting of the court. The term was not held, 
and the men who did not intend to pay their debts celebrated a 
victory over the law." 

( 89 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

"The governor issued a proclamation, calling the legislature 
to meet in special session on the 27th of September. The 
proclamation was an incentive to still greater activity on the part 
of the insurgents. On the other hand, the supporters of the 
government felt the increased necessity of making a stand 
against insurrection. The law required the supreme judicial 
court to sit at Springfield on the fourth Tuesday of September. 
The insurgents, who had not hitherto interfered with this court, 
declared that the term should not be held. At that time the 
grand juries reported to the supreme court, and the insurgent 
leaders knew that if the grand jury assembled and did its duty, 
they would be indicted for treason. The friends of law and 
order declared that the court should be protected in any event, 
and at whatever cost." 

"Gen. William Shepard, of Westfield, who had served with 
distinction through the Avar of the revolution, and had been a 
member of the continental congress and a trusted otficer of Gen- 
eral Washington, was appointed to command such forces as could 
be raised for the protection of the court. Shays,^ the leader of 
the insurgents, had held a commission in the continental army, 
and was conspicuous for his personal bravery at Bunker Hill 
and Stony Point, and was present at the surrender of Burgoyne. 
Revolutionary experiences were still fresh and almost every man 
in the community was accustomed, in some degree, to the use of 
arms and military drill. It was well understood that neither 

'Daniel Shays was born in Hopkinton, Middlesex county, in 1747. lie after- 
ward lived in Great Barrington and subsequently removed to I'elham. He en- 
tered the army in 177.j. and in 1770 was appointed lieutenant in Col. Varnum's 
regiment. He was detached on recruiting service and came to Massachusetts, 
where he was abundantly successful ; but he was ambitious of rank and of money, 
and his easy success as recruiting officer suggested a plan for his advancement. 
He enlisted a company whose engagement to serve was based on the condition, 
that he should be the captain. He took the men to West Point and when they 
were about to be apportioned to the commands where they were most needed, the 
conditions of the enlistment were made known. The officers remonstrated, but 
the army needed the men, hence the unsoldierly demands were complied with. 
He was promised a captain's commission, and received it in 1779. In 1780 he 
was discharged from service. "He was bound to the insurrectionary movement 
by no tie of principle, no active conviction of right, no controlling motive of love 
for the public good." After the insurrection was crushed, and he had been par- 
doned. Shays lived in Massachusetts for a time and then removed to Sparta, 
X. Y., where he died in 182.5. 

( 90 ) 



THE SHAYS REBELLION 

party would give way to the other, and there was hardly ground 
for hope that a bloody collision would be averted. ' ' 

"General Shepard succeeded in collecting about 600 militia 
and volunteers, and anticipated the plans of the insurgents by 
taking possession of the court house. On the appointed day the 
court was opened, Chief Justice Gushing and Justices Sargeant, 
Sewall and Sumner being present, and Shays appeared at the 
head of a force largely superior in numbers to General Shep- 
ard 's, but his men were not as well armed as were the militia. 
The insurgents were disconcerted at finding the militia in pos- 
session of the court house, and some of them insisted on making 
an immediate attack. The leaders were more prudent. They 
knew that the government troops were well armed, and they were 
especially disgusted with the bark of a small cannon, which they 
called the 'government's puppy.' They offered to withdraw if 
the judges would agree that no other than the ordinary criminal 
business of the term should be taken up. The .judges replied 
in substance that they had a public duty to discharge and would 
attend to such business as should properly come before them. 
But by the time this answer was received the insurgent leaders 
were indifferent as to the action of the court, for they were satis- 
fied that the grand jury could not be got together and that there 
would be no trials. They saw that their main purpose would 
be accomplished without fighting." 

"Shays had his headquarters on or near Ferry lane (Cy- 
press street) and a tavern that stood on the southeasterly cor- 
ner of the present Main and Sargent streets was a favorite ren- 
dezvous of the insurgents. ' ' 

"The inhabitants of Springfield were beginning to feel some 
relief from their anxiety, when a new commotion was seen in the 
camp of the insurgents. It was rumored among them that the 
militia had determined that they should not be permitted to 
march past the court house. . . . But the rumor, however 
it originated, aroused the fighting qualities of the insurgents. 
They notified General Shepard that they Avould march past the 
court house forthwith ; and they did so in military order and 
with loaded muskets. . . . The militia could not be tempted 

( 91 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

to accept a mere challenge or invite a battle. But some of the 
militia were so impressed with the numbers and bearing of the 
insurgents that they deserted their colors and enlisted under 
Shays." 

' ' The rebels had accomplished all they intended, and more ; 
but success had crazed them. The rank and file were clamorous 
for a fight, and Shays sent a message to General Shepard de- 
manding a surrender of the court house. General Shepard did 
not deem the possession of the court house worth fighting for, the 
court having adjourned, and moved his forces to the federal 
arsenal, where there was valuable property that required protec- 
tion." 

"Toward the close of the session (legislative) acts were 
passed authorizing the governor and council to imprison without 
bail such persons as they deemed dangerous to the public safety, 
and providing that persons indicted for treason might be tried 
in any county. But these measures were qualified by an offer 
of free pardon to such of the insurgents as should take the oath 
of allegiance before the first of January. An address to the 
people was voted, as had been suggested by the Springfield town 
meeting, but they did not provide money to meet the expenses 
of dealing successfully with the insurrection." 

"The failure of the legislature to adopt energetic measures 
gave new courage to the insurgents. . . . The war upon the 
courts was persistently maintained. In December Shays made 
another raid upon Springfield, and forcibly prevented the ses- 
sion of the court of common pleas. A letter from Springfield to 
the Boston Chronicle, under date of December 27, gives this ac- 
count of the proceeding: 

" 'There is a stagnation of almost every kind of business 
among us by reason of the tunuilts which are so prevalent here. 
Yesterday we had another visit from the mobility ; about 350 
men marched in hostile array, with drums beating, and took pos- 
session of the court house, commanded by Shays, Day and 
Grover, in order to prevent the sitting of the court of common 
pleas, which by law was to have been held here at that time. This 
they eft'eeted, as there was no opposition on the part of the gov- 

( 92 ) 



THE SHAYS REBELLION 

eminent. It was not possible for the court (as they were sur- 
rounded by an armed force and a guard placed at the door of 
the room in which the judges were met) to proceed to do business. 
They therefore informed a committee who were chosen by the 
insurgents to wait on them that they would not attempt to open 
the court. After which, about dark the insurgents left the 
town.' " 

"Information of this last exploit of Shays was not received 
by the governor until the first of January. The news was re- 
ceived at Boston with surprise and alarm. Springfield had been 
regarded as the government stronghold in the western part of the 
state, and an uncontested insurgent success had not been ex- 
pected at that point. At the same time an attack upon Boston 
was threatened, and there were indications that a part of the 
population of that town were ready for revolt. Disturbances, 
too, were occurring in other states. In NeAv Hampshire an armed 
mob surrounded the legislature, demanding the enactment of a 
paper money law. There were well grounded apprehensions 
that general anarchy would be the barren sequence of all the 
magnificent achievements of the continental armies." 

"The governor and members of the executive council were 
capable and resolute men, but they were powerless. They did 
not have at their command the means of sustaining even a single 
regiment in the field. The emergency was finally met by some 
of the capitalists and business men of Boston, who realized the 
danger to which their interests would be exposed by a revolution, 
and came forward with an oft'er of a loan to the state, trusting 
to future legislation for their reimbursement. Their offer was 
accepted and there was at once a change in the condition of af- 
fairs. Orders were issued for the raising and equipment of 
4,500 men. . . . Shays and his council had been in delibera- 
tion over two distinct plans of operation. The more reckless 
of the leaders advised an attack upon Boston for the purpose of 
releasing two of their number who had been arrested and were 
held in jail. Others advised that the attack on Boston be de- 
layed until after the seizure of the continental arsenal at Spring- 
field, with its store of war material, and this plan was the one 
adopted. ' ' 

( 93 ) 



OVE COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

"The Hampshire county quota of 1,200 men were ordered 
to assemble at Springfield, and General Shepard was placed in 
command. The eastern militia were sent to Roxbury, whence 
they were to march to Worcester and there joined with the force 
raised in Worcester county. The chief command Avas given to 
Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, an accomplished officer of the revolu- 
tionary war. Governor Bowdoin's orders to General Lincoln 
required him to protect the court of common pleas at the Janu- 
ary term at Worcester, and left his further movements against 
the insurgents to his own discretion. ' ' 

"General Shepard again anticipated the movements of 
Shays. Acting under the authority of the secretary of war, he 
took possession of the arsenal. General Lincoln reached Wor- 
cester on the 22d of January, after a three days' march from 
Roxbury through the deep snow of midwinter. The court was 
opened and proceeded with the business of the term. Order was 
restored at Worcester, and, substantially, at all points in the 
state east of that place. The insurgents were concentrating 
their strength in the western counties, and it was understood on 
all hands that the issue was to be tried and determined at Spring- 
field." 

"The positions of the several armed forces on the evening 
of January 24 were as follows: General Shepard was posted 
at the arsenal with about 1,000 men. Shays had just reached 
Wilbraham on his march from Rutland. A part of Lincoln's 
command was less than two days' march in the rear of Shays. 
Luke Day, an insurgent leader, was at West Springfield with 
about 400 men and boys, well armed and well drilled. There 
was a good ice bridge at the time, so that he was within easy 
reach of the arsenal. Eli Parsons, a Berkshire leader, was in 
the north parish of Springfield (now Chicopee) with about 400 
men. The total insurgent force was about double that of Gen- 
eral Shepard." 

"The inhabitants of Springfield, except such as were within 
the immediate protection of General Shepard, were kept in con- 
stant alarm. Respectable citizens were seized in their own 
houses and taken to Day's camp in West Springfield, where they 

( 94 ) 



THE SHAYS REBELLION 

were kept under guard as hostages and for purposes of retalia- 
tion. Men were not sure whether their near neighbors were 
friends or foes, and unprotected homes were exposed to outrage 
and plunder. Upon the receipt of the news that Shays had 
reached Wilbraham, most of the women and children who had 
means of conveyance tied from that town." 

' ' On his arrival at Wilbraham, Shays sent a message to Day, 
informing him that he intended to attack the arsenal on the 25th. 
Day replied by letter that he could not move on that day but 
would join in the attack on the 26th. Day's messenger was ar- 
rested and his letter, instead of going to Shays, went to General 
Shepard. On the 25th Shays moved upon Springfield, expect- 
ing the co-operation of Day and Parsons. Even if he had re- 
ceived Day's letter he could not have delayed his attack. His 
only chance of success was in seizing the arsenal before C4eneral 
Lincoln could come up." 

"At that time none of the buildings now standing on the 
arsenal grounds had been erected. There Avere two wooden 
buildings, built for barracks and for storage on the brow of the 
hill looking to the north, on or near the site of the present store- 
house. There was a private dwelling house on the site of the 
present middle arsenal, and it was to this house that the dead 
and wounded insurgents were carried. East of that point there 
were no buildings except the powder magazine, that stood in a 
then remote spot in the woods. INIagazine street has since been 
located over its site. The present armory square was the pub- 
lic training field. There were not then any gun shops on the 
arsenal grounds. If there was one in the town at the time, it 
was in Perry lane, where the government gun work was origin- 
ally done in Springfield. ' ' 

"When Shays left Wilbraham on the morning of the 25th, 
Asaph King, a deputy sheriff, started on horseback to give in- 
formation to General Shepard. He was obliged to avoid the 
liighways, and made his way across the fields, through snow 
drifts and over fences, and is said to have accomplished the dis- 
tance in forty-five minutes. This was the first exact informa- 
tion received by General Shepard of the approach of Shays ; and 

( 95 ) 



OUR COL STY AND ITS PEOPLE 

he proceeded to make ready for his fitting reception. His men 
were stationed near the barracks, and his cannon were planted 
on the brow of the hill connnanding the approach by the Bos- 
ton road. A part of his force was posted in ]\Iain street, at the 
point now crossed by the Boston and Albany railroad, for the- 
pnrpose of holding Day in check in case he should attempt to 
come to the aid of Shays. A considerable mob collected at that 
point, but did not attempt an attack upon the militia." 

"It was toward the close of the short winter day that the 
insurgents were seen from the arsenal making their toilsome 
march through the snow on the Boston road. They were in the 
best of spirits ; every attempt they had hitherto made had suc- 
ceeded, but it w'as not an unprotected court house they were now 
intending to occupy. Shays Avas entirely confident. Some of 
his old army comrades went out to meet him, and advised him to 
keep out of the range of General Shepard's guns, and to aban- 
don his treason. He received them pleasantly, told them he 
was sure of success, and was inclined to be jocose. He did not 
know his own men. ' ' 

' ' There was not any battle. The only firing was on the gov- 
ernment side, and there was but little of that. Only one shot 
seems to have been fired in genuine earnest, and that was followed 
by a panic among the insurgents, and a flight. The official re- 
port of the firm but kind-hearted General Shepard to the gov- 
ernor, gives us reliable history. It is as follow^s : 

" 'Springfield, January 26, 1787. 

" 'Sir: — The unhappy time has come in which we have been 
obliged to shed blood. Shays, who was at the head of about 
1,200 men, marched yesterday afternoon about four o'clock 
towards the public buildings, in battle array. He marched his 
men in an open colunui by platoons. I sent several times, by 
one of my aids and two other gentlemen, Capts. Buffington and 
Woodbridge, to him to know what he w'as after, or w^hat he 
wanted. His reply was, he wanted barracks, barracks he Avould 
have, and stores. The answer Avas he must purchase them dear, 
if he had them. He still proceeded on his march until he ap- 
proached Avithin 250 yards of the arsenal. He then made a halt. 

( 96 ) 



THE SHAYS REBELLION 

I immediately sent Major Lyman, one of my aids, and Capt. Buf- 
fington, to inform him not to move his troops any nearer the 
arsenal on his peril, as I was stationed here by order of your ex- 
cellency and the secretary of war, for the defense of the publick 
property ; in case he did, I should surely fire on him and his men. 
A Mr. AVheeler, who appeared to be one of Shays' aids, met Mr. 
Lyman, after he had delivered my orders, in the most peremptory 
manner, and made answer, that that was all he wanted. Shays 
immediately put his troops in motion and marched rapidly near 
one hundred yards. I then order Major Stephens, who com- 
manded the artillery, to fire upon them; he accordingly did. 
The first two shot he endeavored to over-shoot them, in the hope 
that they would have taken warning, without firing among them, 
but it had no effect on them. INIaj. Stephens then directed his shot 
through the center of his column. The fourth or fifth shot put 
the whole column in the utmost confusion. Shays made an 
attempt to display his column, but in vain. We had one howit, 
which was loaded with grape-shot, which, when fired, gave them 
great uneasiness. Had I been disposed to destroy them, I might 
have charged upon their rear and flanks with my infantry and 
the tAvo field pieces, and could have killed the gi'eater part of his 
whole army within twenty-five minutes. There was not a single 
musket fired on either side. ' ' 

' ' I found three men dead on the spot, and one wounded, who 
is since dead. One of our artillerymen, by inattention, was 
badly wounded. Three muskets were taken up with the dead, 
which were deeply loaded. I enclose to your excellency a copy 
of the paper^ sent to me last evening. I have received no rein- 

^The paper referred to in General Shepard's report is as follows : 

"Headquarters, West Springfield, 
"January 25, 1787. 
"The body of the people assembled in arms, adhering to the first principles 
in nature, self-preservation, do, in the most peremptory manner, demand, 
"1. That the troops in Springfield lay down their arms. 

"2. That their arms be deposited in the public stores, under the care of 
the proper oflBcers, to be returned to the owners at the termination of the pres- 
ent contest. 

"3. That the troops return to their homes on parole. 

"To the commanding officer at Springfield, January 25, 1787, 

"Luke Day, 
"Captain Commandant of this division." 
(On the bacls) "By Col. Eli Parsons." 

7-1 ( 97 ) 



OlJE COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

forceraents yet, and expect to be attacked this day by their whole 
force combined. I am, sir, with great respect. 

" 'Your Excellencies most obedient humble servant, 

" 'William Shepard.' 
" 'His Excellency, James Bowdoin, Esq.' 

"The lives so foolishly thrown away before the arsenal were 
those of Ezekiel Root, and Ariel AVebster, of Gill, Jabez Spicer, 
of Leyden, and John Hunter, of Shelburne. In the evening 
Shays sent a flag of truce, requesting that the bodies of five of 
his men killed before the arsenal be returned to him. General 
Shepard's rather grim reply was, that he could not furnish him 
at that time with five insurgents, as he had but four, and one of 
them was not quite dead, but that if Shays would attack the 
arsenal again he would furnish him as many dead rebels as he 
should desire." 

"Shays retreated on the night of the 25th to 'Chapin's tav- 
ern,' five miles east of the town. The next day he joined Par- 
sons ' force at Chicopee, 200 of his men deserting by the Avay. A 
bold dash on the morning of the 27th might possibly have helped 
him ; but he had lost the only opportunity there was remaining 
to him. At noon on that day a part of General Lincoln's army, 
consisting of three regiments of infantry, three companies of ar- 
tillery and a body of cavalry, reached Springfield. After a rest 
of one hour, the Lincoln infantry and artillery crossed the river 
for the purpose of seizing Day and his party. At the same time 
General Shepard moved up the river on the east bank, and the 
cavalry went up the river on the ice to prevent a junction of 
Day and Shays. There was no inclination to fight among the 
insurgents, who retired as the militia advanced, their number 
lessening by desertions as they went. The pursuit Avas vigor- 
ously maintained until the insurgent leaders were captured or 
driven from the state, but several months elapsed before quiet 
was entirely restored. ' ' 

"Shays and Parsons abandoned Chicopee on the approach 
of General Shepard's army and fled north through South Had- 
ley (where his men plundered several houses, taking from one 
resident two barrels of rum) and Amherst, and thence the leader 

( 98 ) 



THE SHAYS REBELLION 

made his way to his own house in Pelham, leaving many of his 
former followers to work out their own salvation as best thej^ 
could. His army, however, had now d^nndled to about 200 
men. At Pelham he attempted to reorganize his force, but soon 
afterward he changed base and appeared in Petersham, in 
AVorcester county. Here he was surprised by Lincoln and 
barely escaped capture. He fled to New Hampshire, and his 
followers scattered in that state, also in Vermont and New 
York.'' 

Captain Luke Day\ "commandant" of the West Spring- 
field division of the insurgent army, had posted a guard in the 
ferry house in that town, and upon the approach of Lincoln's 
men they fled, after having made a little show of resistance. The 
infantry then marched up "Shad lane," through the settled 
part of the town, but the cohorts of Day then were in swift re- 
treat up the river toward Southampton, many of them in their 
flight throwing away guns and blankets and whatever might im- 
pede their progress. They did not stop until they reached 
Northampton, and there only over night. Their greatest anxiety 
was to get beyond the bounds of the state without falling into the 
hands of the militia. 

^Luke Day was born in West Springfield, July 25. 1743, and was the son of 
worthy and well-to-do parents. He entered the revolutionary service early and 
was a lieutenant in Captain Chapin's company of minute men who marched to 
Boston upon the Lexington alarm. But Day was a demagogue and was much 
given to speech making and bluster ; his tongue was his most formidable 
weapon. He talked wildly of "spilling the last drop of blood that ran in his 
veins." but upon the approach of Lincoln's men upon his quarters in West 
Springfield, he neither attempted nor encouraged resistance. After his defeat 
Day fled to New York, and on returning to this state he was arrested and held 
in jail in Boston. On his own application his case was transferred to Hamp- 
shire county for trial, but under the general amnesty extended to insurgents he 
was pardoned. He then returned to West Springfield and died in the town in 
1801. 



( 99 ) 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE WAR OF 1812-1815 

During the five years immediately preceding the war of 
1812-15 the -whole country was in a state of nominal peace, but 
still there was gathering in the political horizon a dark cloud 
Avhicli increased until it boded another foreign war. In the 
revolutionary struggle America contended for independence and 
won that precious boon ; in 1812-15 she fought to maintain that 
independence on which British aggression had insolently tres- 
passed. 

The United States had honorably observed the provisions of 
the treaty made with Great Britain at the close of the revolution. 
There had been maintained, too, a strict neutrality during the 
progress of the Napoleonic wars when eveiy consideration of 
gratitude should have induced an alliance against the mother 
country. For several years the aggressive acts of the British 
had been a subject of anxiety and regret to all Americans and 
had created bitter indignation throughout the country. The 
embargo laid by congress in 1807 upon our shipping (as a meas- 
ure of safety) was found so injurious to commercial interests 
that it Avas repealed, and the non-intercourse act was passed in 
its stead. 

In April, 1809, the British minister in "Washington opened 
negotiations for the adjustment of existing difficulties, and con- 
sented to a withdrawal of the obnoxious "orders in council," so 
far as they affected the United States, on condition that the non- 
intercourse act be repealed. This was agreed to, and the presi- 
dent issued a proclamation announcing that on the 10th of June 
trade with Great Britain might be resumed. The British gov- 

( 100 ) 



THE ^yAR OF 1812-15 

eminent, however, refused to ratify the proceedings and re- 
called her minister, upon which the non-intercourse act again 
went into operation. 

The most odious and oppressive of all British aggressions 
was the claim made of "right to search," in pursuance of which 
British cruisers stopped American vessels on the ocean and seized 
such of their crews as were suspected to be subjects of the king, 
forcing them into their own service. This claim led to outrages 
to which no true American could submit, and the only choice left 
to the nation was war or disgraceful humiliation. 

On June 12, 1812, President Madison sent a confidential 
message to congress, in which he recapitulated the long list of 
British aggressions and declared it the duty of congress to con- 
sider whether the American people should longer passively sub- 
mit to open insult : but at the same time he cautioned the house 
to avoid entanglements vrith other powers that then were hostile 
to Great Britain. 

The result of the message and the deliberation of congress 
was a formal declaration of war on the 19th of June, 1812, but 
the measure was not unanimously sustained or even approved in 
all parts of the Middle and New England states. The oppo- 
nents held that the country was 2iot prepared for war and asked 
for further negotiations. They also met the denunciations of 
the ruling party (the American or democratic party— for it went 
by both names, and included many republicans) against the Brit- 
ish with bitter attacks upon Napoleon, whom they accused the 
majority with favoring. The war party (variously denomi- 
nated by the opposition as "Screaming AVar Hawks" and "Blue 
Lights") was led by Henry Clay, and the opponents (Federal- 
ists, otherwise called the "Peace party") by John Randolph, 
both men of distinguished ability, and the giants of congress at 
that time. 

"In Massachusetts," says Mr. Holland's history, "the war 
became the theme of pulpit denunciation, the subject of consider- 
ation and condemnation in town meetings, and the target full of 
quivers of resolutions from the taut-strung bows of conventions. 
Berkshire was somewhat more democratic than the river region, 

( 101 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

but the latter was very thoroughly federal, and hated the war 
with entire heartiness. . . . Inniiediately after the declara- 
tion of Avar nearly all the towns in Western INIassachnsetts pos- 
sessing federal majorities, passed resolutions condemning it and, 
by concert of action, the towns of the three river counties in legal 
town meetings, appointed delegates to a grand convention to be 
holden at Northampton on the 14th of July, 1812, to consult 
upon the war. Accordingly on that day delegates from fifty- 
seven towns in the three counties assembled at the Northampton 
court house. In fifty-three of these towns the delegates were 
regularly appointed, and appeared with certificates of their re- 
spective toAvn clerks, while the remaining four sent represent- 
atives of federal minorities. ' ' 

The delegates, so far as they represented towns forming a 
part of Hampden county, were as follows : John Hooker, 
Chauncey Brewer, Justin Lombard, Joseph Pease, Springfield ; 
Jedediah Smith, Alanson Knox, Blandford ; Amos Hamilton, 
Alpheus Converse, Palmer ; David Curtis, Granville ; Deodatus 
Button, Monson ; Darius Hunger, South Brimfield ; Robert Ses- 
sions, Aaron Woodward, Wilbraham ; Edward Taylor, Montgom- 
ery; John Policy, Holland; Eleazer Slocum, Tolland. Pelatiah 
Bliss and Timothy Burbank were irregular delegates from West 
Springfield, in sympathy with the convention, but represent- 
atives of a town whose majority favored the prosecution of the 
war. 

"In all," says Holland, "there were eighty-eight delegates, 
composed of the best and most influential citizens in the three 
counties, many of whom were in high civil and military office. 
The convention organized by the choice of John Hooker of 
Springfield for president, and Isaac C. Bates of Northampton 
for secretary. The proceedings Avere opened Avith prayer by 
Rev. Mr. Williams of Northampton. An address to the people, 
previously issued by the anti-Avar minority in congress, was then 
read, Avhen Elijah H. INIills, Ephraim Williams, LcAvis Strong, 
Samuel Hills, Joseph Lyman, Ezra Starkweather, John Hooker, 
Samuel C. Allen and Samuel F. Dickinson Avere appointed a 
committee to report in regard to the proper action of the con- 

( 102 ) 



THE ^yAE OF 1812-15 

veiitiou concerning public affairs, after which the convention 
adjourned until the 15th. On that day the committee reported 
that it Avas expedient to present a respectful memorial to the 
president of the United States, praying that commissioners 
might be forthwith appointed to negotiate a peace with Great 
Britain, "upon safe and honorable terms," and a memorial to 
that effect was therewith submitted, with a series of resolutions 
for the consideration of the convention. The committee also re- 
ported that it was expedient to appoint four delegates from each 
county, to meet in state convention, provided the measure should 
be adopted in other parts of the commonwealth, and also, that 
committees of safety and correspondence be appointed in each 
county, and that it be recommended to each town to choose simi- 
lar committees in its corporate capacity. The entire report, 
with a few amendments of the memorial, was adopted, and the 
committees recommended were appointed. The following were 
chosen delegates to the state convention : 

Hampden,— ^\\\mm. Shepard, George Bliss, Samuel Lath- 
rop and Amos Hamilton. 

Hampshire,— lio^Q\)\\ Lyman, Eli P. Ashmun, William Bod- 
man and Samuel F. Dickinson. 

Franklin,— Yi])hv?i\m Williams, Richard E. Newcomb, Rufus 
Graves and Roger Leavitt. 

The committees of safety and correspondence were, for 
Hampden, Jacob Bliss, John Hooker, Oliver B. Morris and Jona- 
than Dwight, Jr. ; for Hampshire, Jonathan H. Lyman, Lewis 
Strong, Isaac C. Bates and William Edwards; and for Franklin, 
Jonathan Leavitt, Samuel Wells, Elijah Alvord, 2d, and George 
Grenuell, Jr. 

''At the time of holding this convention Caleb Strong of 
Northampton was governor of Massachusetts. That the memo- 
rial and resolutions adopted represented his views is to be pre- 
sumed—a presumption receiving additional force from the fact 
that his son, Lewis Strong, was a member of the committee that 
reported them, and had the credit of being the able author of the 
memorial." 

The memorial agreed upon and adopted by the convention 

( 103 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

was a long, solemn and formidable document, and ably reviewed 
the political situation in the country, and especially in New Eng- 
land, at the time, from a purely federalist standpoint. Accord- 
ing to its declarations the convention represented a constituency 
of 80,000 persons, and while not so stated in the proceedings, the 
very center of that constituency was in the Connecticut valley 
and the region adjoining it on the east. The resolutions adopted 
were even more radical than the memorial, and declared the war 
to be "neither just, necessary nor expedient." 

In February, 1812, four months before the formal declara- 
tion of war, congress passed an act providing for the organiza- 
tion of 25,000 men for an army, and in April following 100,000 
of the nation's enrolled militia was called upon for active serv- 
ice. These calls for troops aroused the federalist ire and pro- 
voked the unusual expressions of the Northampton convention in 
the final resolution adopted by that body, viz. : 

' ' That, although we do not consider ourselves bound, volun- 
tarily, to aid in the prosecution of an offensive war, which we be- 
lieve to be neither just, necessary nor expedient, we will submit, 
like good citizens, to the requisitions of the constitution, and 
promptly repel all hostile attacks upon our country. That, col- 
lecting fortitude from the perils of the crisis, and appealing to 
the searcher of hearts for the purity of our motives, we will exert 
ourselves, by all constitutional means, to avert the dangers which 
surround us ; and that, while we discountenance all forcible oppo- 
sition to the laws, we will expose ourselves to every hazard and 
every sacrifice to prevent a ruinous alliance Avith the tyrant of 
France, to restore a speedy, just and honorable peace, to pre- 
serve inviolate the "Union of States, in the true spirit of the con- 
stitution, and to perpetuate the safety, honor and liberties of our 
country. ' ' 

Notwithstanding the protestations of loyalty on the part of 
the memorialists, at heart they had little sympathy and no en- 
couragement whatever for the cause for which the federal gov- 
ernment was contending, and in fact opposed all measures for 
the prosecution of the war. Governor Strong declined to fur- 
nish the quota of troops called for by the government, which 

( 104 ) 



THE ^yAR OF 1812-15 

action raised a serious question as to the relations^ of Massachu- 
setts and the federal union. 

None of the Massachusetts militia were called into service 
until September, 1814, when the British, having taken possession 
of Castine, on the Penobscot river and within the INIassachusetts 
jurisdiction, a general invasion of the region was greatly feared. 
Then— and only then— the governor took decisive action and 
made a requisition for troops to be assembled at Boston. It was 
not the governor's purpose, however, to send his military forces 
against the British, but rather to repel any invasion of the terri- 
tory of the commonwealth, as the United States troops then had 
been withdraAvn from the coast. 

Two regiments of infantry were sent from old Hampshire 
county, one from the northern towns under Col. Thomas Longly, 
of Hawley, and the other from the southern towns under Col. 
Enos Foot, of Southwick. The county also furnished a regi- 
ment of artillery, in which was an entire company from Spring- 
field under Capt. Quartus Stebbins. Among the officers of rank 
from the county was Brig.-Gen. Jacob Bliss of Springfield. The 
troops left the valley about the middle of October, the Spring- 
field artillery taking its departure on a Sunday morning, fresh 
from the spiritual admonitions of Rev. Dr. Osgood. On arrival 
at Boston the men were stationed at Dorchester, where ihey en- 
camped about forty days and then returned to their homes. Thus 
ended what was known at the time in democratic circles as "Gov. 
Strong's war." 

In December, 1814, the famous Hartford convention was as- 
sembled, comprising twelve delegates appointed by the Massa- 
chusetts legislature, seven by the Connecticut legislature, four 

^The governor's refusal involved grave questions "touchiing the power of the 
federal government to call out the militia of the states, to decide on the exigency 
for calling them into service, and to place them in command of United States 
officers after they were called out. In all these points Gov. Strong was op- 
posed to the president and was supported in his position by the written opinion 
of the Supreme court of the state ; and thus, the federal party, the strongest at 
first in the advocacy of the concentration of power in the federal head, became 
the first to oppose what was deemed a usurpation of the rights of the state. The 
governor did not believe that the mere act of declaring war on the part of the 
president of the United States gave him any right to call the militia of the sev- 
eral states into service." — Holland. 

( 105 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

from Rhode Island, two from New Hampshire and one from Ver- 
mont. George Bliss of Springfield and Joseph Lyman of North- 
ampton were the delegates from Western INIassachnsetts. The 
proceedings of the convention need no review in this work, yet it 
may be said that the principal recommendations of that distin- 
guished body were soon afterward embodied in a law of con- 
gress.^ 

In relation to the events of the second war with Great Brit- 
ain little need be said in these pages. The general results of the 
struggle are written in the conflicts of Lake Erie, the repulse of 
the invaders on the Delaware, the painful and humiliating scenes 
of the Chesapeake, the invasion of New York and the attempt to 
control the Hudson river and Lake Champlain. The story is 
further told in the brilliant victory at Plattsburg, the capture of 
Niagara and Oswego, the battles of Black Eock, Lundy's Lane, 
Sackett's Harbor, closing with the glorious defense of. New Or- 
leans. Above all, however, were the masterly exploits of our 
navy, Avhose victory over the British cruisers gave the enemy a 
most serious view of American prowess. Peace, however, came 
at last and the treaty was ratified February 15, 1815. 

i"The recommendations of the convention were tliat the states talje meas- 
ures to protect their citizens from 'forcible draughts, conscriptions or impress- 
ments, not authorized by the constitution of the United States,' and that an 
earnest application be made to the general government, requesting its consent to 
some arrangement whereby the states separately, or in concert, might assume 
upon themselves the defense of their territory against the enemy ; and that a 
reasonable portion of the taxes collected within the state might be appropriated 
to that object. The law passed by congress three weeks afterward, authorized 
and required the president to 'receive into the service of the United States any 
corps of troops which may have been, or may be, raised, organized and offieered 
under the authority of any of the states, to be employed in the state raising the 
same, or an adjoining state, and not elsewhere except with the consent of the 
executive of the state raising the same.' " — Holland. 



( 106 ) 



CHAPTER X 
COUNTY ORGANIZATION 

Previous to the creation of Hampshire county the region of 
country included within that jurisdiction as originally estab- 
lished was not a part of any civil division of the Massachusetts 
Bay, and there appears not to have been need for the exercise of 
civil authority in the locality. The settlers, few in number, yet 
firmly united by bands of kinship, church fellowship and mutual 
interest, required no law to govern their actions, and such petty 
differences as did arise among them were readily settled by the 
magisterial officers appointed by the general court. However, 
during the first quarter of a century of civilized white occupancy 
in the region referred to the number of settlers was so increased, 
and the plantations were so widely extended, that the organiza- 
tion of a new county in this part of the colony became necessary. 

The three original towns comprising Hampshire county were 
known as Springfield, Northampton and Hadley, neither of 
which at the time of its creation, or recognition as a town, was 
measured by definite bounds. Springfield in itself was a vast 
territory, and in the history of Hampshire and Hampden coun- 
ties it has been a veritable mother of towns. 

According to established records, Springfield originally was 
common land called Agawam, and became a town in the colony, 
June 2, 1641. The district called "AVoronoco" (afterward 
Westfield) was annexed in 1647, and did not become a town until 
1669. 

Northampton, the second division in seniority and extent in 
Hampshire county, was common land called "Nonotuck" pre- 
vious to its settlement by the whites in 1653. Three years later 

( 108 ) 



COVNTY ORGANIZATION 

it was organized as a town in the colony, but previous to 1662 it 
was not a part of any county jurisdiction. 

Hadley was settled in 1659, and in May, 1661, the plantation 
was organized as a town. 

In the early part of 1662 a committee was appointed by the 
town of Springfield, "concerning settling the towns in this west- 
ern portion of the colony into the form of a new county," and 
on May 7, of the same year, the general court passed the follow- 
ing act : 

"Forasmuch as the inhabitants of this jurisdiction are much 
encreased, so that now they are planted farre into the country 
vpon Conecticott Riuer, who by reason of their remotenes cannot 
conveniently be annexed to any of the countyes already settled, 
& that publicke affaires may with more facility be transacted 
according to lawes heere established, it is ordered by this Court 
& authority thereof, that henceforth Springfeild, Northampton, 
and Hadley shall be & hereby are constituted as a county, the 
bounds or Ijmitts on the south to be the south Ijne of the pattent, 
the extent of other bounds to be full thirty miles distant from 
any or either of the foresajd tonnes, & what tounes or villages 
soeuer shall hereafter be erected within the foresajd precincts to 
be & belong to the sajd county ; and further, that the sajd county 
shall be called Hampshire, & shall haue and enjoy the libertjes 
& priviledges of any other county; & that Springfeild shall be 
the shire toune there, & the Courts to be kept one time at Spring- 
feild & another time at Northampton ; the like order to be ob- 
served for their shire meetings, that is to say, one yeere at one 
toune, & the next yeare at the other, from time to tjme. And it 
is further ordered, that all the inhabitants of that shire shall pay 
their publicke rates to the countrey in fatt catle, or young catle, 
such as are fit to be putt off, that so no vnnecessary damage be put 
on the country; & in case they make payment in corne, then to 
be made at such prises as the lawe doe comonly passe amongst 
themselves, any other former or annuall orders referring to the 
prises of corne notwithstanding." 

From this it may be seen that the county extended south to 
the north line of Connecticut, and east and west from the towns 

( 109 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

mentioned a distance of thirty miles, or an entire width of sixty 
miles. The north boundary, also, was indefinite and evidently 
was intended to be governed by the thirty mile limit northward 
from Northampton, as the north boundary of the colony then was 
uncertain. It may be said, however, that the above description 
is based on the assumption that the words, "the extent of the 
other boundaries to be full thirty miles distant from any or 
either of the foresaid tonnes," refers to the settled portions of 
each of them in the immediate vicinity of the Connecticut river, 
and not the remote boundaries of those towns as understood un- 
der the purchase from the Indians. 

After the passage of the act it became necessary for the peo- 
ple to make some provision for the conduct of affairs of the new 
county, and for that purpose Capt. John Pynchon, Henry 
Clarke, Capt. Aaron Cooke, Lieut. David Milton and Elizur Hol- 
yoke were chosen a committee. On April 2, 1663, the committee 
"Agreed and determined that the beginning of the year for the 
shire meetings of this county shall be on the first day of ]Mareh 
yearly : And that the shire meetings shall be each other year 
at Springfield, and each other year at Northampton, in a constant 
course. And all our shire meetings this year to be at Northamp- 
ton; Springfield having had them last year." Also they agreed 
that the commissioner chosen in INIarch yearly by the shire com- 
missioner to carry the votes of nomination of magistrates to Bos- 
ton, "shall have allowed him by the county thirty shillings, to be 
paid by the county treasurer ; the rest of his charges he is to bear 
himself ; and that no man be thereby overburthened, it is deter- 
mined that there be a change yearly of the persons to carry the 
votes, except for necessity of conveniencey they shall see cause 
to act otherwise." 

Having made the necessary provision for the government of 
the new county, the commissioners also provided a place in 
Springfield and Northampton for holding courts. Previous to 
this time William and John Pynchon had served in the capacity 
of magistrate, the latter succeeding the former, and the proceed- 
ings conducted by them were held in the Pynchon mansion, or 
fort, as more commonly known. A short time before the crea- 

( 110 ) 



COUNTY ORGANIZATION 

tion of the county Mr. Pynchon had erected a large brick man- 
sion, which served the purpose of a dwelling, court house, and 
also as a defensive fortress ; and in the attack upon and burning 
of Springfield in 1675 it furnished ample protection to the in- 
habitants. Indeed, so far as we have reliable information on 
the subject, Fort Pynchon was the usual place for holding ses- 
sions of court for many years, although on extraordinary occa- 
sions the magistrates assembled in the "ordinary," as the tav- 
ern of the town was then called. 

On INIay 25, 1659, the general court provided for the estab- 
lishment of courts and the conduct thereof, and on the organiza- 
tion of the county the magistrates previously appointed were 
continued in olBce. They were Capt. John Pynchon, Lieut. Eli- 
zur Holyoke and Samuel Chapin, who were clothed with "full 
power and authority to govern the inhabitants of Springfield, 
and to hear and determine all cases and offences, both civil and 
criminal, that shall not reach life, limb or banishment ; provided 
it shall and may be lawful for any party to appeal to the court 
of assistants at Boston, so as they prosecute the same to the order 
of this court : provided also that their trials may be by the oaths 
of six men, if twelve cannot be had for that service, and that 
Northampton be referred to Springfield in reference to county 
courts, which courts shall be kept, one on the last Tuesday in the 
first month, and the other on the last Tuesday in September, 
yearly, at Springfield, unless the commissioners aforesaid shall 
see just cause to keep one of them at Northampton ; and the two 
courts to be kept at Springfield or Northampton, as aforesaid, 
shall in all respects have the powers and privileges of any county 
court till this court shall see cause otherwise to determine ; pro- 
vided they shall not warn above fower [four] jurymen from 
Northampton to Springfield, or from Springfield to Northamp- 
ton," etc. 

Under the authority of the act just mentioned a term of 
court was held in Springfield, March 27, 1660, two years before 
the county was created, and was conducted by the magistrates 
mentioned. Among the jurors present were Thomas Cooper, 
George Colton, Benjamin Cooley, Thomas Stebbins, Jonathan 

( 111 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Burt, John Duinbleton, Thomas Gilbert, Benjamin Parsons and 
Samuel Marshfield, of Springfield, some of whose surnames are 
still preserved in Hampden county. After the organization of 
the county, courts were held more systematically, and in accord- 
ance with the provisions of the general court. 

Although Springfield was designated the shire town of 
Hampshire county by the act, sixty years passed before a court 
house in fact was built. Northampton had a town house as 
early as 1661, and the building was subsequently occupied for 
court purposes. Springfield was the older settlement, though 
perhaps no greater in population than its neighboring plantation 
on the north, yet the strong men, the men of influence and 
wealth, were identified with the development of the older town. 

In 1661 Mr. Pynchon had begun the erection of a "house of 
correction," a less dignified name for which is "a common gaol," 
and in 1668 the building was completed. It stood on what now 
is Maple street. The building was burned by the Indians in 
1675, and was replaced in 1677 with a more substantial struc- 
ture^, at an expense of about 50 pounds. Simon Lobdell was 
its keeper— the first jailer. No steps were taken in the matter 
of erecting a court house at the shire town until November 29, 
1721, when it was voted to build a structure for that purpose, 
"provided our neighboring towns, viz.: Westfield, Suffield, En- 
field and Brookfield, be assisting in doeing of it." 

The town of Springfield offered to pay one-half of the cost 
of the building, and sent Capt. Luke Hitchcock, Joseph Willis- 
ton and John Worthington as emissaries to the towns mentioned 
to see what they would do in the matter of assistance. The re- 

^Tlie second house of correction and county jail stood on the west side of 
Main street, on the site of the Union house of later years. The jailer's dwell- 
ing adjoined it on the north and extended a few feet into what is now Bliss 
street. This was the jail in which, in 1770, William Shaw, of Palmer, killed 
a fellow prisoner named Edward East ; and for the crime Shaw was hanged on 
December 13 of the same year. The gallows stood on the hill, about where the 
armory now stands. It was a public execution, and on the occasion Kev. Moses 
Baldwin of Palmer, preached to the assembled throng, using as his text, "There- 
fore the ungodly shall not stand in judgment." The period of usefulness of the 
old jail was about 120 years. After the removal of the seat of justice of 
Hampshire county to Xorthampton, in 1749, the jail property and buildings 
wei"e sold, 

( 112 ) 



COUNTY ORGANIZATION 

suit of their visit is not shown in the records, still, on December 
26 Springfield voted that "the said court house shall be fourty 
foot long, thirty foot wide, and seventeen foot stud." It was 
also voted that the persons mentioned "be a committee to make 
provision for and effect the building and finishing of the court 
house," and to determine its location. The sum of 20 pounds 
was authorized to be drawn from the town treasury for a build- 
ing fund. 

It appears, however, that the adjoining towns failed to give 




The First Court House 

favorable ear to the request of Springfield, and that town be- 
came involved in a spirited controversy in regard to the build- 
ing. In September, 1722, it was voted that a committee be 
chosen "to consider of and propose some method or way to com- 
pose the diff'erences that have bin or may arise about the court 
house, & to make report of their proposals to the town." . . . 
"Voted, that Lieut. Ephraim Colton, Peletiah Bliss, Increase 
Sikes, Captain John J\Ierick, Lieut. Joseph Cooley, Samuel Day, 
Deacon Joseph Ely, Ensign John Miller, Ensign James Merrick 
& Jonathan AVorthington to be the said committee." 



8-1 



( 113 ) 



DUE COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

At a subsequent meeting" the committee reported a plan "to 
compose the differences'' and at the same time to raise the means 
necessary to complete the building. It was determined to sell 
public land on the west side of the river "as to advance the sum 
of thirty pounds," and enough on the east side to realize forty 
l)ounds ; and if a sufficient sum was not then provided to draw the 
remaining sum from the treasury. It is evident that the treas- 
ury was called upon, for in 1724 it was voted (but afterward 
rescinded) that "the Assessors doe assess the Inhabitants the sum 
of Forty & Seven Pounds Ten Shillings & Eleven pence to defray 
the cost & charges of building the Court-House. ' ' 

The first court house in Springfield, to which reference is 
made in preceding paragraphs, stood on the east side of IMain 
street on land subsequently taken for Sanford street, and ex- 
tended into Main street a little beyond its present east line. The 
building was completed in 1723, and in December of that year 
Samuel Day, Ephraim Colton and Thomas Horton were ap- 
pointed to examine the accounts of the building committee. On 
January 7, 1724, the report of the examining committee was ac- 
cepted by the town. 

The old first court house in Springfield was an institution of 
Hampshire county from the year of its erection until 1812— four 
score years and ten — yet occupancy for its original purpose 
ceased with the year 1794, when, for the convenience of the in- 
habitants of the county generally, Northampton was made the 
shire town, and all public records and properties were trans- 
ferred to that place. Then the old court house lost its useful- 
ness for a time, and for the next twenty years was occupied for 
various purposes, chiefly as a town hall. However, in 1812, on 
the creation of Hampden county, the building again was occupied 
as a house of justice, and so continued until the completion of a 
more commodious structure in 1822. In later years the old 
pioneer building was again used for town purposes, then was 
sold to the parish of the Congregational society. Subsequently 
it passed through various ownerships and, like an unprofitable 
tenant, was moved about from place to place, and finally became 
unsightly and crippled with age. Now it exists only as a mem- 
ory. 

( 114 ) 



COUNTY ORGANIZATION 

The removal of the seat of justice from Springfield to 
Northampton was not favored by the people living in the south 
part of the county, and naturally they complained against the 
change as being injurious to their interests. But they submitted 
to the loss, yielding to the principle of "the greatest good to the 
greatest number." There was no necessity for a two-shire 
county, with the expense of supporting institutions in both, and 
if continued the northern towns Mere entitled to the same privi- 
leges as were those in the south part, hence the change was a 
necessity. Still, the temporary loss of the southern towns re- 
sulted in ultimate gain, for in less than twenty years Hampshire 
county was divided. On June 24, 1811, the northern portion 
of the territory was set off to form Franklin county, and on Feb- 
ruary 25, 1812, the mother county again was divided and Hamp- 
den county was created. 

"An act for dividing the county of Hampshire and erecting 
and forming the southerly part thereof into a separate county 
by the name of Hampden. ' ' 

Sec. I. Be it enacted, &e. : "That the county of Hamp- 
shire be and hereby is divided, and the following towns in the 
southerly part thereof be, and hereby are erected and formed 
into a county by the name of Hampden, that is to say: Spring- 
field, Longmeadow, "VVilbraham, Monson, Holland, Brimfield, 
South Brimfield, Palmer, Ludlow, West Springfield, Westfield, 
Montgomery, Russell, Blandford, Granville, Southwick, Tolland 
and Chester, of which Springfield shall be the shire town ; and 
that all that part of said county of Hampshire included within 
the boundaries of the towns before mentioned shall be deemed 
and taken to compose the said county of Hampden. And the in- 
habitants of the said county of Hampden shall have, use, exercise 
and enjoy all such powers, rights, privileges and immunities as 
by the constitution and laws of this commonwealth other counties 
within the same have, use, exercise and enjoy." 

The creating act provided for the organization of the county 
and the administration of its affairs, "from and after the 1st day 
of August, 1812." But it appears that Governor Gerry, with 
something more than commendable promptness, on May 20 ap- 

( 115 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

pointed Samuel Fowler judge of probate, and on the 23d like- 
wise appointed Jonathan Smith, jun., sheriff of the county. This 
action at once awoke great commotion in political circles in 
Springfield, and resulted in quo warranto proceedings that called 
for the best efforts of "Master" George Bliss, representing the 
solicitor-general, and the learned George Ashmun, for the ap- 
pointees. This proceeding, however, was mere political by-play, 
for at the time the democrats and the federalists were arrayed in 
bitter political strife. Sheriff Smith was continued in office un- 
til 1814, but in 1813 Judge Fowler was enjoined from further 
service in official capacity. This was the first local victory of 
the federalists over the democrats of Hampden county. 

In 1812, the year in which Hampden county was created, 
Hampshire county was represented in the state senate by Abner 
Brown, Ezra Starkweather, Jonathan Leavitt and Joshua Green. 
The towns comprising the region set off to form the new county- 
were represented in the house as follows : Springfield, by INIoses 
Chapin, Jacob Bliss, Oliver B. ]\Iorris, Edmund Dwight; Long- 
meadow, Ethan Ely; AVilbraham, Walter Stebbins, Abel Bliss, 
jun. ; ]\Ionson, Edy Whittaker, Stephen Warriner ; Holland, 
represented jointly Avith South Brimfield ; Brimfield, Stephen 
Pynchon, Philemon Warren; South Brimfield, Royal Wales; 
Palmer, Jesse King; Ludlow, Sherwood Beebe ; West Springfield, 
Jonathan Smith, Charles Ball, Timothy Horton, Elias Leonard ; 
Westfield, Jedediah Taylor, Benjamin Hastings; ^Montgomery, 
Aaron Parks ; Russell, not represented ; Blandford, Samuel 
Knox; Granville, Israel Parsons, John Phelps; Southwick, Reu- 
ben Clark, Shubel Stiles ; Tolland, not represented ; Chester, Syl- 
vester Emmons. 

AVhile the act of the legislature made necessary provision 
for the administration of affairs of the county, it remained for 
the people to settle their accounts with the mother territory, and 
also to provide a suitable place for holding courts and offices for 
county officials, for now Hampden county Avas a jurisdiction of 
considerable importance, having more than 25,000 population, 
whereas at the time of the removal of the seat of justice to North- 
ampton the towns comprising the county had barely 20,000 inhab- 

( 116 ) 



COUNTY ORGANIZATION 

itants. In 1790 Springfield's population was 1,574, and in 1810 
had increased to 2,767, then being larger than Northampton. 

On the organization of the county no definite provision was 
made for a building in which to hold courts or to transact county 
business, and it is believed that for a time the old court house 
again was brought into service, and that on occasion the town 
house was occupied for that i)urpose. However, in the course 
of a few years the court of sessions, the power of the county at 
the time, determined to build a new court house, but the ques- 
tion of location provoked so much discussion that nothing was 
done for a year or two. Public sentiment was divided on the 
question, and tradition has it that the church society also divided 
over the subject. 

The matter Avas agitated as early as 1818, and that is all 
that was accomplished during that and the next year. One 
strong element of the townsfolk advocated the "Dwight" loca- 
tion on State street, while another ecpially strong contingent 
favored a location on Main street, on "]\Ieeting-house square." 
This location finally was selected. But it appears that action 
was taken none too soon, for in 1820 the court of sessions re- 
tained Samuel Lathrop to appear before the Supreme judicial 
court to answer an information filed against the court of sessions 
for neglect of duty, in delaying the erection of the court house 
and other county buildings. Just what became of this matter 
is not discussed on the records, but it is probable that the ener- 
getic action of the court of sessions about that time satisfied the 
attorney-general that the body was disposed to act in good faith. 
At the same sitting (March, 1820) the court (Heman Day, of 
West Springfield, Amos Hamilton, of Palmer, and Stephen Pyn- 
chon, of Brimfield) appointed John Phelps, Enos Foot, Samuel 
Lathrop, Jonathan Dwight, jun., Joel Norcross, Amos Hamilton 
and Daniel Collins a commission to consider the propriety of 
erecting county buildings. 

The important matter to be considered was the location of 
the building, whether on State street or on Meeting-house square. 
The latter site was favored by many of the prominent men of the 
town, who agreed among themselves to purchase a considerable 

( 117 ) 



COUNTY ORGANIZATION 

tract of laud and donate to the county a sufficient area for the 
buildings and also for a public square. The remaining part 
of the purchase they proposed to sell for business purposes, hop- 
ing the increased value of the lots would more than compensate 
them for the parcels donated ; and in the light of subsequent 
events connected with the rapid growth of the immediate locality 
it is probable that the proprietors made a good investment. 

The subscribers^ to the purchasing fund (with the sum in- 
vested by each) were as follows: Edward Pynchon, $800 ; Dan- 
iel Bontecou, $800 ; Eleazer Williams, $400 ; Elijah Blake, $250 ; 
Justice Willard, $100; Thomas Dickman, $100; James Wells, 
$200; John Ingersoll, $100; Henry Brewer, .$50; David Ames, 
$600 ; Solomon Warriner, .$200 ; Sylvester Clark, .$50 ; Elisha Ed- 
wards, $50 ; Samuel Ostrander, $100 ; Japhet Chapin, $100 ; Dan- 
iel C. Brewer, $150; Dr. John Stone, $100; Moses Howe, $100 
Alex. Bliss, $200 ; John Hooker, $700 ; Thomas Sargent, $100 ; F 

A. Packard, $50; Elisha Curtis, $100; Ebenezer Russell, $100 
John Hooker, Jr., $50 ; Joseph Pease, $50 ; Quartus Chapin, .$25 
Lewis Ferre, Jr., ,$25 ; Pliny Chapin, .$50 ; Charles Stearns, $100 
Simon Sanborn, $100; Joseph Carver, $100; Israel E. Trask, 
$300. 

The committee charged with the selection of a site evidently 
acted promptly, for in December, 1820, the court ordered that 
the court house be erected and completed with reasonable dis- 
patch, on the "Parsons or Sheldon lot, near to and fronting and 
ranging with the Rev. Mr. Osgood's meeting house, so-called." 
It Avas also ordered that the ground in front of the proposed site 
be cleared of it« buildings and be made a public common, agree- 
able to the plan made by Mr. Damon, and that the proprietors 
convey to the county the "square," the court house lot, and a 
strip on the east side of the latter four rods wide to be used as a 

'In addition to those wlio participated in the speculative investment, a num- 
ber of other worthy citizens ofifered to donate toward the court house building 
and site fund on Main street without the expectation of returns from the sale 
of adjoining lots. These proposed donors were Dr. Joshua Frost. ?i:.50 ; Jonas 
Coolidge, $100 ; Edward Bliss, .$20 ; A. G. Tannatt, .f-'O ; Francis Bliss, |20 ; 
Daniel Lombard, $100 ; Robert W. Bowhill, $20 ; Jacob Bliss, $20 ; Roswell Lom- 
bard, $20 ; James Chapin, $20 : Roger Adams, $20 ; Ebenezer Tucker,$75 ; Oliver 

B. Morris, $.30 ; George Blake, $20. 

( 119 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

public street. George Bliss and John IngersoU were appointed 
to see that these provisions were carried into effect as the pro- 
prietors had promised. 

The first Hampden county court house was built in 1821, 
under the supervision of Jonathan Dwight, jun., John Phelps 
and Daniel Bontecou, and cost $8,375. It was— and is— of brick, 
48 by 62 feet on the ground and two stories high ''31 feet to the 
eaves." It was the house of justice of the county more than half 
a century, and was in all respects a substantial and suitable 
structure until the business of the shire became too large for its 




The Second Court House, built 1821 



further occupancy. In 1851 it was enlarged by the addition of a 
rear extension— temporary improvement— but in less than twenty 
years more there came a strong demand for a new, modern and 
more commodious court house, a structure which in a measure 
should reflect something of the growth and importance of the 
county among the civil divisions of the commonwealth ; and when 
at last this consummation was reached, the old building^ was sold 

^The old bell which hung in the belfry, and which assembled the court, and 
also in early days alarmed the people in case of Are. was '•tumbled" from Its 

( 120 ) 



COUNTY ORGANIZATION 

aud put to other uses, first as a business institute and later as a 
home for Oddfellowship in Springfield. It still stands and is 
an enduring monument to the memory of the old Hampden bar. 

The third — the present — Hampden county court house was 
authorized by an act of the legislature passed March 3, 1871, and 
was erected between that time and 1874, during the term of office 
of county commissioners William ]\I. Lewis of Blandford, George 
K. Townsley of Springfield, and James S. Loomis of Palmer. For 
the i^urposes of the building a site on the south side of Elm street 
was purchased at a total cost of $75,716.37. The structure itself 
cost $214,068.93. and the interior furnishings the additional sum 
of $14,757.99. The building in size is 90 feet by 160 feet on its 
foundations, and is constructed of native stone from the Monson 
quarries, sometimes called "Monson granite." The court house 
is one of the largest and most pretentious public buildings in 
Western Massachusetts. In appearance and architectural de- 
sign it is attractive to the eye and symmetrical in its proportions. 

In 1813 the county purchased an acre and a half of land on 
State street for the purpose of erecting thereon a "gaol and 
house of correction," and Jonathan Smith, jr., Jonathan 
D wight, jr., and Daniel Lombard were appointed a committee to 
procure plans and make a contract for the erection of the build- 
ing, "subject to the further order of the court." This commit- 
tee reported in favor of a stone building, 18 by 30 feet in size, and 
two stories high, at an estimated cost of about $3,633. Appa- 
rently something was wrong with the proceedings, for soon after- 
ward Jonathan Dwight, jr., Oliver B. Morris and John Phelps 
were called on by the court to estimate the cost of a jail build- 
ing. This committee reported the probable cost at $5,283, and 
the report was accepted ; and having performed its duty the com- 
mittee was discharged, and another like body, comprising Jona- 
than Dwight, jr., William Sheldon and Heman Day, was chosen 

hangings in September, 1879. Tradition says tlie bell was once in use on a 
British man-of-war and was captured by the Americans during the revolution. 
An inscription on the bell read. "Thomas Lester of London, made 174L'." It 
was purchased for $100 in 1821 by John C. I'helps, Jonathan Dwight and Dan- 
iel Bonteceau. and replaced the bell bought for .^30 in 1815 by George P.liss aud 
Oliver B. Morris. 

( 121 ) 




Hampden County Court House 



COUNTY ORGANIZATION 

to procure plans and make a contract for the work. It was 
through the ett'orts of this committee that the land on State street 
was purchased, at a cost of $500. Then, still another committee 
— George Blake, AVilliam Sheldon and John Phelps— super- 
intended the work of construction; and when the building was 
finally completed in 1814 (cost, $14,164) Heman Day, AVilliam 
Ely and George Bliss were asked to establish the jail limits. 

Thus Hampden county, after much needless trouble and 
detail, was provided with a reasonably secure jail and house of 
correction. But in later years, beginning about 1830, the build- 
ing was the occasion of much discussion and the frequent outlay 
of money in extensions, repairs and moditications, until the 
county, as a means of economy, security and public benefit, 
determined to abandon the old structure and erect a new jail and 
house of correction. 

The first ''gaoler" in the old building on State street Avas 
Col. Ebenezer Russell, who served in that capacity until 1825, 
when he became proprietor of the ''Old Hampden Coffee House," 
which stood where the Smith & Murray store is now. Col. Har- 
vey Chapin was the next jailer, and was followed, in succession, 
by Maj. William H. Foster and Noah H. Clark, the latter taking 
office in 1840. 

The extreme penalty of the law was inflicted on three pris- 
oners in the old county jail ; first, Alexander Desmarteau, who 
was hanged April 26, 1861, for the outrage and murder of an 
eight year old girl ; second, Albert H. Smith, June 27, 1873, for 
the murder of Charles D. Sackett; and third, Joseph B. Loomis, 
who was hanged March 8, 1883, for the murder of David Levett 
while riding with him through the Agaw^am covered bridge. 

The old jail was abandoned February 17, 1887. The prop- 
erty was sold by the county to the city, and the site is now" in part 
occupied by the splendid new high school building on State street. 

The act authorizing the construction of the present jail and 
house of correction on York street, in Springfield, was passed by 
the legislature in 1884. The county commissioners purchased 
several parcels of land on the street mentioned, at a cost of 
$15,100. The contract for construction was awarded to Creesey 

( 123 ) 



QUE COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

& Noyes, of Boston, who erected the buildings after the plans of 
D, H. & A. B. Tower, at a total cost of $178,000. The entire cost 
of land, buildings, interior construction and furnishings was 
$266,953.94. 

The buildings are of native stone, quarried in the county, 
and are as complete as modern architecture and sanitary methods 
can devise. In all their appointments the jail and house of cor- 
rection are a credit to the county and also to the commissioners 
(Leonard Clark, of Springfield, Lewis E. Root, of Westfield, and 
Henry A. Chase, of Holyoke), who were charged with the respon- 
sibility of the work. 



CHAPTER XI 
HAMPDEN COUNTY CIVIL LIST 

Having in the preceding chapter devoted considerable atten- 
tion to the organization of the county and to a descriptive history 
of its several public buildings and properties, it is proper in the 
present connection to furnish a record of the men Avho have been 
entrusted with the administrative atfairs of the county and also 
of those who have represented the county in the state government. 

Governor— George Dexter Robinson, 1884-87. 

Lieutenant-Governors— 'Ehplmlet Trask, 1858-61 ; William 
H. Haile, 1890-93. 

Secretary of the CommomveaWi—y^illiam B. Calhoun, 
1848-51. 

Treasurer and Receiver-General— B.enry M. Phillips, 1894- 
95, resigned April 12, 1895; Edward S. Bradford, 1900- — . 

Auditor of Accounts— Charles R. Ladd, 1879-91. 

Senator in Congress— IsaSiC C. Bates, 1840-45. 

Representatives in Congfress— Elijah Hunt Mills, 1815-19 
(14th and 15th congresses) ; Samuel Lathrop, 1821-27 (16th, 
17th, 18th and 19th congresses) ; Isaac C. Bates, 1827-35 (20th, 

( 124 ) 



CIVIL LIST 

21st, 22d and 23d congresses) ; AVilliam B. Calhoun, 1835-43 
24th, 25th, 26th and 27th congresses) ; Osmyn Baker, 1843-45 
(28th congress) ; George Ashmun, 1845-51 (29th, 30th and 31st 
congresses) ; Henry Morris, 1855-57 (34th congress) ; Calvin C. 
Chaffee, 1857-59 (35th congress) ; Charles Delano, 1859-63 (36th 
and 37th congresses) ; Chester W. Chapin, 1875-77 (44th con- 
gress) ; George D. Robinson, 1877-83, resigned in 1883 to be gov- 
ernor (45th, 46th and 47th congresses) ; William AMiiting, 1883- 
89 (48th, 49th and 50th congresses) ; Frederick H. Gillett, 1893- 
1901 (53d, 54th, 55th and 56th congresses, and re-elected for 
another term). 

Elijah Hunt Mills was not directly a Hampden representa- 
tive, but was so closely identified with the civil and political 
history of the county that his name is worthy of mention here. 

Presidents of the Senate — Samuel Lathrop, 1829-30, resigned 
1830; George Bliss, 1835, to fill vacancy; William B. Calhoun, 
1846-47. 

^e/m^ors— Jonathan Smith, jr., 1813 ; Thomas Dwight, 1814; 
Samuel Lathrop, S. C. Allen, Elijah Hunt Mills (representing 
the Hampden district, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin coun- 
ties), 1815; Ezra Starweather, Samuel Lathrop, Elijah Paine, 
1816; Ezra Starkweather, Samuel Lathrop, Elijah Paine, 
Ephraim Williams, 1817 ; Samuel Lathrop, Samuel Porter, Elihu 
Hoyt, Peter Bryant, 1818 ; Samuel Lathrop, Elihu Hoyt, Jona- 
than H. Lyman, Jonathan Dwight, jr., 1819 ; Elihu Hoyt, Jona- 
than H. Lyman, Jonathan Dwight, jr., Thomas Longiy, 1820; 
Jonathan H. Lyman, Jonathan Dwight, jr., Thomas Longiy, 
Mark Doolittle, 1821 ; Elihu Hoyt, Jonathan Dwight, jr., Mark 
Doolittle, Alanson Knox, 1822; Jonathan Dwight, jr., James 
Fowler, 1823; James Fowler, John Mills, 1824; James Fowler, 
John Mills, 1825; John Mills, Justice AVillard, 1826; John Mills, 
Joshua Frost, 1827; John Mills, Jonathan Dwight, jr., 1828; 
James Fowler, Samuel Lathrop, 1829, 1830 and 1831 ; Enos Foot, 
John AA^iles, 1832 ; Patrick Boise, James Byers, 1833 and 1834 ; 
George Bliss, Abel Bliss, 1835 ; Orren Sage, Harvey Chapin, 1836 
and 1837; George Ashmun, Reuben Boies, jr., 1838 and 1839; 
Asa Lincoln, Matthew Ives, jr., 1840 ; William G. Bates, William 

( 125 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Child, 1841 ; John Mills, Keiiben Champion, 1842 ; Asa Lincoln, 
Reuben Champion, 1843; Joseph M. Forward, Jehiel Abbott, 
1844 ; Jehiel Abbott, Charles Stearns, 1845 ; William B. Calhoun, 
Forbes Kyle, 1846 and 1847; Edward Parsons, Willis Phelps, 
1848; Edward Parsons, Aaron King, 1849; Aaron King, James 
Cooley, 1850; Erasmus D. Beach, David Mosely, 1851; Calvin 
Torrey, Amasa Holcomb, 1852 ; George Dwight, Edward B. Gil- 
lett, 1853 ; James Holland, Joseph L. Reynolds, 1854 ; William 0. 
Fletcher, Gilbert Pillsbury, 1855; Hiram C. Brown, Benning 
Leavitt, 1856; Gad 0. Bliss, Matthew D. Field, 1857; Aaron 
Bagg, George Walker, 1858 and 1859 ; Timothy W. Carter, Gor- 
don M. Fisk, 1860 and 1861; Milton B. Whitney, James M. 
Thompson, 1862; Milton B. Whitney, George Dwight, 1863; 
William B. C. Pearsons, Thomas L. Chapman, 1864: Thomas 
Kneil, Henry Alexander, jr., 1865 and 1866; Henry Alexander, 
Hinsdale Smith, 1867: Henry Alexander, Henry Fuller, 1868; 
Charles R. Ladd, George S. Taylor, 1869 ; Charles R. Ladd, W. 
W. Jenness, 1870 : Timothy A. Packard, George M. Stearns, 1871 ; 
William L. Smith, Reuben Noble, 1872; Timothy F. Packard, 
William AVhiting, 1873; E. Howard Lathrop, Henry Fuller, 
1874; Henry S. Hyde, Henry Fuller, 1875; Tilley Haynes, 
George D. Robinson, 1876 ; Tilley Haynes, Henry C. Ewing, 1877 ; 
Charles L. Gardner, Henry C. Ewing, 1878 ; Charles L. Gardner, 
A. C. Woodworth, 1879 ; Marcus P. Knowlton, Emerson Gaylord, 
1880 and 1881; William H. Haile, Charles A. Corser, 1882; 
William H. Haile, Dexter B. Hitchcock, 1883 ; William R. Ses- 
sions, Albert C. Woodworth, 1884; William R. Sessions, James 
R. Dunbar, 1885 ; Henry M. Phillips, James R. Dunbar, 1886 ; 
Henry M. Phillips, Levi Perkins, 1887: Charles C. Spellman, 
Levi Perkins, 1888 ; Edwin D. Metcalf , George W. Gibson, 1889 ; 
Edwin D. Metcalf, Oscar Ely, 1890; Frank E. Carpenter, Will- 
iam Provin, 1891; Charles C. Merritt, William Provin, 1892; 
Solomon F. Cushman, William P. Buckley, 1893 ; Edwin F. Ly- 
ford, William P. Buckley, 1894 ; Edward S. Bradford, Marciene 
H. Whitcomb, 1895 : Edward S. Bradford, William A. Chase, 
1896 ; Edward S. Bradford, Dwight H. Ives, 1897 ; William W. 
Leach, William B. Mahoney, 1898 : Thomas W. Kenefick, George 

( 126 ) 



CIVIL LIST 

N. Tyner, 1899 ; Thomas AV. Kenefick, William B. Mahoney, 1900 ; 
John F. Marsh, Charles A. Corser, 1901. 

Mcmhers of House of i?fp»'fS(:'»^of/ves— 1813 — Springfield, 
Moses Chapin, Edmund Dwight, AVilliam Sheldon; Westfield, 
Benjamin Hastings. Frederick Fowler, Azariah Mosely; Brim- 
field, Stephen Pynchon, Philomel Warren ; Blandford, Alanson 
Knox, Solomon Noble : Palmer, Jesse King ; Granville, John 
Phelps, Asa Seymour ; Monson, Abner Brown, Stephen AVarri- 
ner : South Brimfield, AA'illiam Putnam ; AA'ilbraham, not repre- 
sented; Chester. Sylvester Emmons, John N. Parmenter; South- 
wick, Reuben Clark, Shubael Stiles ; AVest Springfield, Charles 
Ball, James Kent, John Porter, Horace Flower ; Ludlow, Ely 
Fuller; Montgomery, Aaron Parks; Longmeadow, Ethan Ely; 
Russell, none ; Tolland, Thomas Hamilton : Holland, unites with 
South Brimfield. 

1814— Springfield, Moses Chapin, Oliver B. Morris, Edmund 
Dwight ; AA'estfield, Benjamin Hastings, Frederick Fowler, 
Azariah Mosely; Brimfield, Stephen Pynchon, Alexander Ses- 
sions ; Blandford, Alanson Knox, Alexander AA^ilson ; Palmer, Al- 
pheus Converse; Granville, David Curtis, Israel Parsons; Mon- 
son, Abner Brown, Jesse Ives; South Brimfield, Royal Wales; 
AVilbraham, Joseph Lathrop, AA^illiam Clark; Chester, Sylvester 
Emmons; Southwick, Enos Foot, Shubael Stiles: AA^est Spring- 
field, Elias Leonard, James Kent, John Porter, Luke Parsons; 
Ludlow, Ely Fuller; Montgomery, none; Longmeadow, Calvin 
Burt; Russell, none; Tolland, Thomas Hamilton; Holland, unites 
with South Brimfield. 

1815— Springfield, Joseph Pease, Samuel Orne, Edmund 
Bliss ; AA^estfield, Benjamin Hastings, Frederick Fowler, Azariah 
Mosely; Brimfield, Stephen Pynchon, Alexander Sessions; 
Blandford, Alanson Knox, Andrew AVilson; Palmer, Alpheus 
Converse ; Granville, David Curtis, James Barlow ; Monson, Ab- 
ner Brown, Jesse Ives ; South Brimfield, John Weaver ; AA^lbra- 
ham, Joseph Lathrop, Robert Sessions ; Chester, Asahel AA^ right ; 
Southwick, Doras Stiles; West Springfield, Jonathan Smith, jr., 
David Morley, Luke Parsons, Gad AVarriner ; Ludlow, Ely Ful- 
ler; Montgomery, none; Longmeadow, Calvin Burt; Russell, 

( 127 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

none ; Tolland, Perez Marshall ; Holland, unites with South 
Brimfield. 

1816— Springfield, Edmund Dwight, Joseph Pease, Edmund 
Bliss; AVestfield, Benjamin Hastings, Azariah Mosely, William 
Blair; Brimfield, Stephen Pynchon, Israel E. Trask; Blandford, 
Alanson Knox, Isaac Lloyd; Palmer, Jesse King; Granville, 
David Curtis, James Cooley ; Mouson, Abner Brown ; South 
Brimfield, James L. AVales ; Wilbraham, Joseph Lathrop, Robert 
Sessions; Chester, Sylvester Emmons; Southwick, Doras Stiles; 
West Springfield, Jonathan Smith, Charles Ball, Gad AVarriner, 
Alfred Flower; Ludlow, Eli Fuller; Montgomery, none; Long- 
meadow, Alexander Field ; Russell, none ; Tolland, Perez Mar- 
shall ; Holland unites with South Brimfield. 

1817 — Springfield, William Ely, Moses Chapin, Jonathan 
Dwight, Justin Lombard ; AVestfield, Benj. Hastings, William 
Blair, James Fowler; Brimfield, Alexander Sessions, Solomon 
Hoar; Blandford, Isaac Lloyd, David Boies 2d; Palmer, Amos 
Hamilton; Granville, James Cooley, Perry Babcock; Monson, 
Abner Brown, William Clark ; South Brimfield, James L. Wales ; 
AYilbraham, Robert Sessions, Moses Burt; Chester, John Ellis; 
Southwick, Enos Foote ; West Springfield, Jonathan Smith, 
Charles Ball, Alfred Flower, David Hastings ; Ludlow, Ely Ful- 
ler ; Montgomery, none ; Longmeadow, Alexander Field ; Russell, 
none ; Tolland, none ; Holland unites with South Brimfield. 

1818— Springfield, Jacob Bliss; Westfield, Azariah Mosely; 
Brimfield, Alexander Sessions; Blandford, Abner Gibbs ; Palmer, 
Amos Hamilton ; Granville, James Cooley, Perry Babcock ; Mon- 
son, Stephen Warriner ; South Brimfield, John Weaver ; Wilbra- 
ham, Robert Sessions ; Chester, none ; Southwick, Enos Foote ; 
AA^est Springfield, Jonathan Smith ; Ludlow, none ; Alontgomery, 
none ; Longmeadow, none ; Russell, none ; Tolland, none ; Holland 
unites with South Brimfield. 

1819 — Spring-field, Jacob Bliss; AVestfield, David King, AA^il- 
liam Blair ; Brimfield, Stephen Pynchon ; Blandford, Abner 
Gibbs: Palmer, James Stebbins; Granville, James Cooley, Reu- 
ben Hills ; Monson, Deodatus Dutton ; South Brimfield, none ; 
AVilbraham, none; Chester, Daniel Collins; SouthAvick, Gideon 

( 128 ) 



CIVIL LIST 

Stiles ; West Spriiif^tield, Jonathan Smith ; Ludlow, none ; Mont- 
gomery, none; Longmeadow, Joseph AV. Cooley; Kussell, none, 
Tolland, none, Holland, none. 

1820— Springfield, Jacob Bliss; Westfield, none; Brimfield, 
Stephen Pynehon ; Blandford, Abner Gibbs; Palmer, none; 
Granville, James Cooley, Reuben Hills ; Monson, Deodatus But- 
ton ; South Brimfield and Holland, Timothy Fenton ; Wilbraham, 
none ; Chester, none ; Southwick, Gideon Stiles ; West Springfield, 
Jonathan Smith; Ludlow, none; jNIontgomery, none; Long- 
meadow, Joseph W. Cooley ; Russell, none ; Tolland, none. 

1821 — Springfield, Daniel Bonteceau; AVestfield, AVilliam 
Atwater ; Brimfield, Stephen Pynehon ; Blandford, none ; Palmer, 
James Stebbins; Granville, Francis Stebbins, James Barlow; 
Monson, Abraham Haskell ; South Brimfield and Holland, none ; 
Wilbraham, Abel Bliss, jr. ; Chester, William AYade ; Southwick, 
Joseph Forward; AYest Springfield, Charles Ball; Ludlow, none; 
Montgomery, none; Longmeadow, none; Russell, none; Tolland, 
none, 

1822— Springfield, George Bliss; AA^estfield, James Fowler; 
Brimfield, Stephen Pynehon; Blandford, David Blair, jr.; 
Palmer, none; Granville, Joel Root; Monson, Abijah Newell; 
South Brimfield, Samuel Webber; AA^ilbraham, none; Chester, 
Horace Smith; Southwick, Joseph Forward; AA^est Springfield, 
Caleb Rice; Ludlow, none; Montgomery, none; Longmeadow, 
Oliver Bliss ; Russell, none ; Holland, none ; Tolland, Henry Ham- 
ilton. 

1823— Springfield, Thomas Dickman; AYestfield, none; 
Brimfield, Stephen Pynehon; Blandford, none; Palmer, Clark 
MclNIaster; Granville, Francis Stebbins; Monson, none; South 
Brimfield, Alfred Needham ; AA^ilbraham, none; Chester, none: 
Southwick, Joseph Forward; AA^est Springfield, Luke Parsons; 
Ludlow, none ; Montgomery, none ; Longmeadow, none ; Russell, 
none ; Holland, none ; Tolland, Henry Hamilton. 

1824- Springfield, Justice AVillard; AA^estfield, Elijah 
Arnold, Alfred Stearns; Brimfield, John AA^yles; Blandford, 
Alanson Knox; Palmer, none; Granville, Jesse Root; Monson, 
Luther Carter ; South Brimfield, none ; AA^ilbraham, none ; Ches- 

9-1 ( 129 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

ter, Horace Smith; Soiithwick, Gideon Stiles; AYest Springfield, 
Luke Parsons, Jonathan E. Ferre, Alfred Flower, Daniel Mer- 
rick; Ludlow, none; Montgomery, Oren Parks; Longmeadow, 
none ; Russell, none ; Holland and South Brimfield, Alvin Need- 
ham ; Tolland, Samuel Hamilton. 

1825 — Springfield. Solomon Hatch, Jesse Pendleton; West- 
field, Elijah Arnold : Brimfield, none ; Blandford, David Blair, 
jr.; Palmer, John Frink ; (Jranville, Francis Stebbins; Monson, 
none ; South Brimfield, none ; AVilbraham, Abel Bliss ; Chester, 
Asa Wilcox, Sylvester Emmons ; Southwick, Gideon Stiles ; 
West Springfield, Caleb Rice, Luther Frink; Ludlow, none; 
Montgomery, none ; Longmeadow, none ; Holland, none ; Tolland, 
Samuel Appleton. 

1826— Springfield, William B. Calhoun; Westfield, none; 
Brimfield, John Wyles ; Blandford, Reuben Boies, jr. ; Palmer, 
none; Granville, James Cooley; Monson, Jonathan Torrey; South 
Brimfield, none ; Wilbraham, none ; Chester, none ; Southwick, 
none; West Springfield, Caleb Rice; Ludlow, none; INIontgomery, 
none ; Longmeadow, none ; Russell, none ; Holland, none ; Tolland, 
none. 

1827 — Springfield, George Bliss, Jonathan Dwight, jr., Jesse 
Pendleton, William B. Calhoun, William H. Foster; Westfield, 
Aaron Sibley, David Wright, Charles Douglas ; Brimfield, none ; 
Blandford, Reuben Boies, jr.: Palmer, Asa Ward; Granville, 
Hezekiah Robinson ; Monson, Luther Carter ; South Brimfield, 
none ; Wilbraham, Abel Bliss, Dudley B. Post ; Chester, none ; 
Southwick, Gideon Stiles ; West Springfield, Caleb Rice ; Lud- 
low, none; INIontgomery, none; Longmeadow, Elijah Colton; 
Russell, none ; Holland, Leonard M. Morris ; Tolland, none. 

1828— Springfield, George Bliss, jr., William B. Calhoun, 
William Child, AVilliam H. Foster, Jesse Pendleton, David Rice, 
Simon Sanborn; Westfield, Charles Douglas, Matthew Ives, 
Aaron Sibley ; Brimfield, Lewis AYilliams : Blandford, Reuben 
Boies, jr. ; Palmer, none; Granville, Jonathan D. Bancroft; Mon- 
son, Benjamin Fuller; South Brimfield and Holland, Bela Tif- 
fany ; Wilbraham, Abel Bliss, Robert Sessions ; Chester, Isaac 
Whipple; Southwick, Thaddeus Foote, Joseph M. Forward; 

( 130 ) 



CIVIL LIST 

West Springfield, Albert Flower, James Kent, John Street, Nor- 
mand AVarriner: Ludlow, Eli Fuller; Montgomery, none; Long- 
meadoAV, Setli Taylor; Russell, John Gould; Tolland, Henry 
Bliss. 

1829— Springfield, George Bliss, jr., William B. Calhoun, 
William Child, AVilliam H. Foster, Frederick A. Packard, Jesse 
Pendleton, Simon Sanborn : Westfield, Jesse Farnham ; Brim- 
iield, Lewis AVilliams : Blandford, Israel Cannon, Alanson Knox ; 
Palmer, Daniel King : Granville, Patrick Boise ; Monson, Jona- 
than Torrey ; Wales, none ; Wilbraham, Luther Brewer ; Chester, 
Forbes Kyle; Southwick, Joseph M. Forward; West Springfield, 
Caleb Rice ; Ludlow, none ; Montgomery, Moses Parks ; Long- 
meadow, Seth Taylor; Russell, Abel Tuttle. jr.; Holland and 
South Brirafield, none ; Tolland, Henry Bliss. 

1830— Springfield, AYilliam B. Calhoun. Ithamar Goodman, 
William H. Foster, Charles Howard, Jesse Pendleton, William 
Rice, Eleazer AVilliams; Westfield, Henry Douglas, Jesse Far- 
num, Eli B. Hamilton ; Brimfield, Oliver Blair, John Wyles ; 
Blandford, Reuben Boies, jr. ; Palmer, John Sedgwick; Granville, 
James Cooley ; Monson, Jonathan Torrey ; Wilbraham, Luther 
Brewer, Jacob B. Merrick; Chester, Isaac B. AVhipple; South- 
wick, Joseph M. Forward, Gideon Stiles ; AVest Springfield, Reu- 
ben Champion, jr., AVarren Chapin, Robert Ely, Spencer Flower; 
Ludlow, Alexander AIcLean ; Montgomery, Benjamin Phillips, 
jr.; Longmeadow, Seth Taylor; Russell, Reuben Palmer; AA'ales 
and Holland, John AVallis; Tolland, Launcelot Granger. 

1831— Blandford, Orrin Sage; Brimfield, John Wyles; Ches- 
ter, Forbes Kyle ; Granville, Patrick Boise : Longmeadow, Elisha 
Burnham: Ludlow, Aaron J. Aliller; Montgomery, John Crow; 
Palmer, Cyrus Knox ; Russell, John Gould ; Southwick, Levi AA". 
Humphreys, Abraham Rising, jr. ; Springfield, AA^illiam B, Cal- 
lioun, William Child, Jesse Pendleton, Silas Stedman, Eleazer 
Williams; Tolland, Launcelot Granger; AA^ales and Holland, 
Charles Gardner ; Westfield, Joseph Avery, Henry Douglas, 
Henry Fowler; AVest Springfield, Henry Ely, Lewis AA^arriner; 
Wilbraham, AA^illiam S. Burt. 

1832— Blandford, Lyman Gibbs. David Parks; Brimfield, 
Issacher Brown, Festus Foster ; Chester, AVilliam Shepard ; Gran- 

( 131 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

ville, Patrick Boise, Samuel Root; Longmeadow, Setli Taylor; 
LudioAv, Theodore Sikes ; IMonson, Benjamin Fuller; Montgom- 
ery, Oren Parks ; Palmer, Joseph Lee ; Russell, Roland Parks ; 
Southwick, Amasa Holcomb ; Springfield, George Bliss, William 
Child, Jonas Coolidge, AVilliam B. Calhoun, Silas Stedman ; Tol- 
land, Noah Shepard ; Wales and Holland, Elbridge G. Fuller; 
Westfield, Elias Cadwell, Frederick FoAvler, jr., Matthew Ives, 
jr.; AYest Springfield, Linus Bagg, Warren Chapin, Henry 
Phelan, Lewis Warriner ; AVilbraham, Abraham Avery, Sylvanus 

Stebbins. 

1833_Blandford, Leicester E. Gibbs, Justin Wilcox; Brirn- 
field, Royal Wales, Solomon Hoar; Chester, AVilliam Shepard; 
Granville, Elisha Seymour, Noah Cooley ; Longmeadow, Seth 
Taylor; Ludlow, Theodore Sykes; Monson, Carlton Squire, Oli- 
ver McKinstry ; IMontgoraery, Oren Parks ; Palmer, Daniel King; 
Russell, Chauneey W. Morse; Southwick, Amasa Holcomb; 
Springfield, George Ashmun, George Bliss, Thomas Bond, Wil- 
liam B. Calhoun, Jonas Coolidge, Joseph Pease, Charles Pack- 
ard ; Tolland, Roger Harrison ; Wales and Holland, Alfred Need- 
ham; AVestfield, Frederick Fowler, jr., Lewis Fowler, Matthew 
Ives, jr. ; West Springfield, Linus Bagg, Henry Phelan, Asa B. 
AVhitman ; Wilbraham, Abraham Avery, William S. Burt. 

1834-Blandford, Logan Crosby, Orrin Sage; Brimfield, 
Julius Buel, Marquis Converse ; Chester, Forbes Kyle, Thomas 
F. Plunkett; Granville, Denison Parsons, Samuel Root; Long- 
meadow, Seth Taylor; Ludlow, Theodore Sikes; Monson, none; 
Montgomery, Oren Parks; Palmer, Robert Hitchcock; Russell, 
John Gould; Southwick, Abraham Rising, jr.: Springfield, Wal- 
ter H. Bowdoin, Joel Brown, William B. Calhoun, Benjamin Day, 
Eldad Goodman, Joseph Pease, Charles Stearns, Walter Warri- 
ner; Tolland, Roger Harrison; Wales and Holland, Elbridge G. 
Fuller ; Westfield, Asahel Bush, Lewis Fowler, Norman T. Leon- 
ard ; West Springfield, Hosea Day, Henry Ely, Josiah Johnson, 
Lewis AVarriner ; AVilbraham, Stephen 'Stebbins. 

1835_Blandford, Kilborn Bates, Milton Boies; Brimfield, 
Abner Brown, Festus Foster; Chester, Lewis Collins, Thomas F. 
Plunkett; Granville, Noah Cooley, Elijah Seymour; Long- 

( 132 ) 



CIVIL LIST 

meadow, Oliver Bliss ; Ludlow, Theodore Sikes ; Monson, Oliver 
McKinstry, Carlton Squier : Montgomery, Oren Parks ; Palmer, 
Cyrus Knox ; Russell. Justin Loomis ; Soutliwick. Elislia Steer ; 
Springfield, George Aslimun, Walter H. Bowdoin, Joel Brown, 
William Child, Orange Chapin, Eldad Goodman, Wells South- 
worth, Walter Warriner ; Tolland, Roger Harrison ; Wales and 
Holland, Alfred Needham ; Westfield, Asahel Bush, Harvey 
Champion, Chauncey Pease ; West Springfield, Hosea Day, Ben- 
jamin Leonard, Heber Miller, Seth Parsons; Wilbraham, Abra- 
ham Avery, Stephen Stebbins. 

1836— Blandford, Curtis Hall, Russell A. Wilson ; Brimfield, 
Festus Foster, Linus Hoar ; Chester, Lewis Collins, William 
Henry ; Granville, Alpheus Bancroft, Dennison Parsons ; Long- 
meadow, Burges Salisbury; Ludlow, Theodore Sikes ; Monson, 
Welcome Converse; Montgomery, Ransom Clark; Palmer, Alonzo 
V. Blanchard, Emelius Bond ; Russell, Chauncey W. Morse ; 
Soutliwick, Robert Forward ; Springfield, George Ashmun, Lem- 
uel W. Blake. Orange Chapin. William Child. Joel INIiller, Rich- 
ard D. Morris, AVells Southworth, Charles Stearns, Samuel B. 
Spooner, Samuel A. Stebbins: Tolland, Archibald AVright; Wales 
and Holland. John S. Smith ; Westfield, Harvey Champion, 
Thomas Loomis, Chauncey Pease ; West Springfield, Amasa Ains- 
w^orth. Reuben Champion. Dwight Leonard, Samuel Noble ; Wil- 
braham. William Knight, Walter Stebbins. 

1837— Blandford, Adam Blair, David Collins; Brimfield. 
Royal Wales. John M. Warren ; Chester, William Henry ; Gran- 
ville, Levi Parsons, Elijah Seymour; Longmeadow, Burgess 
Salisbury: Ludlow. Joseph Bucklin : Monson. Welcome Convei-se, 
Hiram Newton : Montgomery, Oren Parks ; Palmer, Sylvester 
Parks, John Ward : Russell, John Gould ; Soutliwick, Robert For- 
ward : Springfield, David Bemis, Samuel Bowles, Chauncey Cha- 
pin, Alpheus Nettleton, Samuel H. Stebbins. Stephen C. Bemis, 
Austin Chapin 2d. Joel Miller, Edmund Palmer, Daniel W. Wil- 
lard; Tolland. Archibald Wright: Wales and Holland, Lyman 
Gould ; Westfield. Elias Cadwell, Thomas Loomis, Joseph Hedges, 
Lucius Wright : West Springfield, Linus Bagg, Josiah Johnson, 
Luther Frink, Lewis Warriner; Wilbraham, William Knight, 
Walter Stebbins. 

( 133 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

1838-Blandford, Sanmel S. Day ; Brimfield, John W. Bliss 
Chester, Forbes Kyle; Granville, Elijah Seymour; Holland 
none; Longmeado^v, Elijah Colton ; Ludlow, Joseph Bucklin 
Monson, Lucius F. Newton ; Montgomery, William Squier 
Palmer, Abel Calkins, Marble H. Terrill; Russell, Jere Bishop 
Southwick, AVarren Byington ; Springfield, Luke Bemis, jr., Wil- 
liam DAvight, Josiah Hooker, Alpheus Nettleton, Samuel H. Steb- 
bins, Daniel AV. Willard ; Tolland, none ; Wales, none ; Westfield, 
Joseph Hedges, Matthew Ives, jr. ; West Springfield, Pelatiah 
Ely, Samuel Noble ; Wilbraham, Walter Stebbins, William Wood. 

1839— Blandford, none; Brimfield, Samuel Tarbell, Abner 
Hitchcock ; Chester, William Shepard ; Granville, Francis Pee- 
bles ; Holland, none ; Longmeadow, Calvin Burt ; Ludlow, none ; 
Monson, Horatio Lyon, Calvin ]Munn ; ]\Iontgomery, Oren Parks ; 
Palmer, William Blanchard, James Gamwell ; Russell, Benj Ben- 
nett ; SouthAvick, Moses Loomis, Elisha Steer ; Springfield, George 
Bliss, Elijah Blake, Orange Chapin, AVilliam Child, Charles 
M'Clallan, Sylvester Taylor; Tolland, George W. Granger; 
AVales, Absolom Gardner; Westfield, Joseph Arnold, Asa B. 
Whitman, Lucius Wright ; West Springfield, Edwin H. Ball, 
Josiah Johnson ; Wilbraham, Jesse W. Rice, William V. Sessions. 

1840— Blandford, Simeon W. Loring; Brimfield, Penuel 
Parker ; Chester, Joshua Stevens ; (xranville, Jonathan B. Ban- 
croft; Holland, none; Longmeadow, Gad 0. Bliss; Ludlow, Den- 
nis Knowlton ; Monson, Hiram Newton ; Montgomery, Noah Shel- 
don ; Palmer, Franklin INIorgan, Asa Shumway : Russell, James 
Bishop; Southwick, AVarren Byington; Springfield, none; Tol- 
land, Leonard Cowles ; AYales, James C. Royce ; Westfield, Joseph 
Araold, Asa B. AMiitman ; AVest Springfield, Spencer Flower, 
Lyman AVhitman, Lester AVilliams; AYilbraham, John Carpen- 
ter, Stephen Stebbins. 

1841— Blandford, Horatio G. Lewis; Brimfield, Ebenezer 
AVilliams; Chester, Thomas S. AA^ade; Granville, Aaron L. Cur- 
tis ; Holland, Horace AA^allis ; Longmeadow, Gad 0. Bliss ; Lud- 
low, none ; jNIonson, none ; jMontgomery, Ransom Clark ; Palmer, 
Olney Gotf ; Russell, Roland Parks ; Southwick, Samuel S. 
Fowler; Springfield, George Ashmun, AYilliam Cadwell, Francis 

( 134 ) 



CIVIL LIST 

M. Carew, AVilliain Dwight, Silas Mosnian ; Tolland, Chester 
Chapman ; Wales, Luther Parker ; Westfield, Jonah L. Gross, 
David Moseley; West Springfield, Rnfns S. Payne, Lester Wil- 
liams ; Wilbraham, John NeAvell. 

1842— Blandford, Watson E. Boise; Brimfield, no choice; 
Chester, Nored Elder; (jranville, James Root; Holland, Willard 
Weld ; Longmeadow, Ethan Taylor ; Ludlow, Dennis Knowlton ; 
Monson, none ; Montgomery, Noah Sheldon ; Palmer, John Ward; 
Russell, John Dickinson ; Southwick, Phineas W. Stevens ; 
Springfield, none ; Tolland, Oliver E. Slocum ; Wales, voted not 
to send ; West Springfield, Jonah L. Gross, David Moseley ; Wil- 
braham, Marcius Cady. 

1843— Blandford, Edwin Ely; Brimfield, Augustus 
Wheeler; Chester, Nored Elder; Granville, William C. Dunham; 
Holland, none ; Longmeadow, Ethan Taylor ; Ludlow, Dennis 
Knowlton ; Monson, William Puft'er ; Montgomery, Charles C. 
Bell ; Palmer, Abel Calkins ; Russell, Daniel Frye ; Southwick, 
Elisha Booth; Springfield, none; Tolland, Aurelius Fowler; 
Wales, James Foskit; Westfield, Norman T. Leonard, Dennis 
Hedge ; AVest Springfield, Aaron Bagg, Lucien M. Ufiford ; AVil- 
braham, John Carpenter. 

1844— Blandford, Leverett Sackett; Brimfield, none; Ches- 
ter, Hector Campbell ; Granville, Henry Clark ; Holland, none ; 
Longmeadow, Calvin Burt ; Ludlow, Dennis Knowlton ; Monson, 
none; Montgomery, Amos S. AA^heeler; Palmer, Gilbert Barber; 
Russell, Jere AV. Bishop ; Southwick, Gideon Stiles ; Springfield, 
Harvey Danks; Tolland, none; AA^ales, Cornelius Miller; AVest- 
field, S. R. B. Lewis, George Sackett; AA^est Springfield, Isaac 
Roberts, Asa Clark; AVilbraham, Samuel Beebe. 

1845— Blandford, Sharon Bradley; Brimfield, Orson Sher- 
man ; Chester, Hector Campbell ; Granville, none : Tolland, none ; 
Longmeadow, Jacob Colton, jr.; Ludlow, Artemas H. AVhitney; 
Monson, Samuel AVhitney ; Alontgomery, none ; Palmer, Alonzo 
V. Blanchard; Russell, Frederic Sackett; Southwick, Chandler 
Holcomb ; Springfield, Edmund Freeman : Tolland, none ; Wales, 
none ; AVestfield, Hiram Harrison, Oliver Moseley ; AVest Spring- 
field, none ; AVilbraham, none. 

( 135 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

1846— Blaudforcl, Vincent S. Bradley ; Brimfield, George 
Puffer; Chester, none; (Iranville, Levi Brown; Holland, none: 
Longmeadow, Lorin Burt ; Ludlow, Artemus H. Whitney ; Mon- 
son, none : JNIontgoniery, none ; Palmer, Lambert Allen ; Russell. 
Newman Bishop, jr.: Southwick, none; Springfield, Walter War- 
riner. Henry Morris. Joseph B. McCune, George Dwight, Rob- 
ert G. Marsh: Tolland, none; Wales, Absalom Gardner; West- 
field. Hiram Fox, Chauncey Colton ; West Springfield, none ; 
Wilbraham, none. 

1847— Blandford, none; Brimfield, none: Chester, none: 
Granville, Joseph F. Miner ; Holland, Elbridge G. Fuller : Long- 
meadow, Loren Burt ; Ludlow, Artemus H. Whitney ; IVlonson. 
none ; Montgomery, none ; Palmer, Alonzo Y. Blanehard : Russell, 
none; Southwick, Almon H. Barker; Springfield, Henry jNIorris. 
Walter Warriner, George Dwight, Timothy W. Carter, Alfred 
White : Tolland, none : Wales, none ; Westfield. Hiram A. Beebe. 
Royal Fowler; West Springfield, Edward Parsons. Hervey 
Chapin ; Wilbraham, none. 

1848— Blandford, none; Brimfield, Alured Homer; Chester, 
none ; Granville, Carlos Gibbons ; Holland, none ; Longmeadow. 
Alford Cooley; Ludlow, Eli M. Smith; Monson, AVilliam N. 
Flynt ; Montgomery, none ; Palmer, Calvin Torrey : Russell, 
none ; Southwick, Eli L. Morse ;' Springfield, William Dwight. 
Timothy W. Carter, Titus Amidon, Joseph D. Decreet, Silas 
Mosman, jr.: Tolland, Henry A. Bills; Wales, none; Westfield, 
Israel Sackett, Josiah S. Knowles ; West Springfield, none ; Wil- 
braham. John Smith. 

1849— Blandford, Amos G. Bovvker; Brimfield, Philip G. 
Hubbard : Chester, none ; Chicopee, none ; Granville, William 
Hall ; Holland, none ; Longmeadow, Alford Cooley ; Ludlow, Alva 
Sikes ; Monson, none ; ^Montgomery, Elisha P. Parks : Palmer. 
Jacob B. Merrick; Russell, none; Southwick, none; Springfield. 
Frederick A. Barton. Lester Dickinson, Joseph C. Pynchon, Wil- 
liam Stowe. John Wells; Tolland, none; Wales, none; Westfield, 
Daniel D. Erving, Hiram Hull : West Springfield, Lyman Allen. 
Daniel G. White : Wilbraham, none. 

1850— Blandford. Albert Knox ; Brimfield. none ; Chester, 
William Campbell; Chicopee, none; Granville, Charles F. Bates; 

( 130 ) 



CIVIL LIST 

Holland, uoue ; Holyoke, none ; Longmeadow, Burgess Salisbury ; 
Ludlow, none ; Monson, none ; jNIontgomery, none ; Palmer, John 
D. Blancliard : Eussell, Gardner S. Burbank ; Southwick, Carmi 
Shurtieff : Springfield, Thomas J. Shepard, AVilliam W. Boying- 
ton, Lester Dickinson : Tolland, none ; Wales, none ; AVestfield, 
INIatthew Ives, George H. Mosely; West Springfield, Lester Wil- 
liams : Wilbraham, none. 

1851— Blandford, Justin Wilson; Brimfield, none; Chester, 
Aurelius C. Boot; Chieopee, Giles S. Chapin, Alpheus Nettleton, 
John Wells; Granville, Vincent Holcomb ; Holland, none; Hol- 
yoke, Alexander Day ; Longmeadow, Burgess Salisbury ; Ludlow, 
none : INIonson, none ; INIontgomeiy, William Squier ; Palmer, 
Joseph Brown 2d ; Eussell, Roland Parks ; Southwick, John Hol- 
comb : Springfield, Henry Adams, John Mills, Edward F. Mose- 
ley, Thomas W. Mason: Tolland, William E. Barnes; Wales, Ash- 
ley Squier : Westfield, James Noble ; West Springfield, Daniel G. 
White: Wilbraham, Roderick S. Merrick. 

1852— Blandford. Chauncey S. Brown : Brimfield, John 
Prouty: Chester, Samuel Henry: Chieopee, Jonathan R. Childs, 
James K. Fletcher, Alpheus Nettleton: Granville, William W. 
Bacon : Holland, none : Holyoke, George C. Ewing ; Long- 
meadow, Dimond Colton : Ludlow, none; Monson, Rufus S. Fay; 
Montgomery, none ; Palmer, Amos C. Billings ; Russell, Henry 
K. Loomis; Southwick, Abel Steer; Springfield, Titus Amadon, 
Ephraim W. Bond, Joel Brown, Andrew Huntington; Tolland, 
none; Wales, AVarren Shaw; Westfield, James Holland; AVest 
Springfield, Harvey Wolcott; Wilbraham, Solomon C. Spellman. 

1853— Blandford, William B. Miller; Brimfield, none; Ches- 
ter, Daniel Fry: Chieopee, Edmund B. Haskell, Charles R. Ladd, 
Samuel A. Shackford; Granville, Horace H. Parsons; Holland, 
Harris Cutler ; Holyoke, none ; Longmeadow, Dimond Colton ; 
Ludlow, none : Monson, none : IMontgomery, Aaron P. Parks ; 
Palmer, Enos Calkins; Russell, Nelson D. Parks; Southwick, 
Moses White ; Springfield, George Bliss, Theodore Stebbins, Nel- 
son Tyler ; Tolland, none : Wales, Jonathan G. Royce ; Westfield, 
Luke Bush : West Springfield, Edward Southworth, Wilbraham, 
none. 

( 137 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

1854_Blandford, Samuel E. Lloyd; Brimfield, Henry F. 
Brown ; Chester, Eliznr D. Cook ; Chieopee, Charles R. Ladd, 
Loman A. Moody, Samuel A. Shackford ; Granville, none ; Hol- 
land, William A. AVebber ; Holyoke, none ; Longmeadow, Oliver 
Dwight; Ludlow, John P. Hubbard; Monson, William H. Brad- 
way ; Montgomery, none ; Palmer, Gilbert Barker ; Russell, none ; 
Southwick, Hiram S. Hollister; Springfield, none; Tolland, Hi- 
ram C. Brown ; Wales, none ; Westfield, Henry Fuller ; West 
Springfield, Edward Southworth ; Wilbraham, Philip P. Potter. 

1855— Agawam, none; Blandford, none; Brimfield, Paul W. 
Paige; Chester, Otis Taylor; Chieopee, Guy Davenport, Lomau 
A. Moody, Erastus Stebbins; Granville, James P. Cooley; Hol- 
land, none; Holyoke, Arba C. Slater; Longmeadow, Rial Strick- 
land ; Ludlow, Jere ]\Iiller ; INIonson, Nelson T. Rogers ; Montgom- 
ery, none ; Palmer, Elijah G. Murdock ; Russell, none ; Southwick, 
Heman Laflin ; Springfield, William Bodortha, Alanson Hawley, 
Wm. Foster, Thomas W. Mason; Tolland, Hiram C. Brown; 
AVales, Elijah Shaw ; Westfield, Derrick N. Got? ; West Spring- 
field, Samuel D. Warriner ; Wilbraham, John W. Langdon. 

1856— Agawam, none ; Blandford, Ralsa Taggart; Brimfield, 
Alfred M. Converse; Chester, none; Chieopee, Sylvester Allen, 
Jonathan Jones, John H. Smith ; Granville, none ; Holland, none ; 
Holyoke, Joshua Gray; LongmeadoAV, Stephen T. Colton ; Lud- 
low, Elisha T. Parsons; Monson, William B. Converse; Mont- 
gomery, none; Palmer, Alonzo N. Dewey; Russell, none; South- 
wick, none; Springfield, Horatio N. Case, William Grossman, 
Willis Phelps, Henry Pomeroy; Tolland, none; Wales, none; 
Westfield, Nathaniel Chapin ; West Springfield, Jonathan W. 
Freeland ; Wilbraham, John Baldwin. 

1857— Agawam, none; Blandford, James C. Hinsdale ; Brim- 
field, Gilman Noyes; Chester, Samuel Stebbins; Chieopee, Lewis 
M. Ferry, John H. Smith John AA^ells ; Granville, none ; Holland, 
none; Holyoke, Alfred White; Longmeadow, Stephen T. Col- 
ton ; Ludlow, Elisha T. Parsons ; INlonson, Albert Norcross ; Mont- 
gomeiy, none; Palmer, Sylvanus G. Shaw; Russell, none; South- 
wick, none; Springfield, John H. Fuller, Daniel L. Harris, 
Eliphalet Trask, Heniy Vose ; Tolland, none ; Whales, none ; AVest- 

( 138 ) 



CIVIL LIST 

field, James Holland ; West Springfield, Jonathan 0. Mosely ; 
AVilbraham, John B. Morris. 

1858— 1st District (Brinifield, Monson, Holland, Wales), 
John AV. Foster of Monson; 2d district (Palmer), Solomon A. 
Fay of Palmer; 3d district (AA^ilbraham, Longmeadow), Rod- 
erick Biirt of AAMlbraham ; 4th district (Springfield, wards 1 and 
2), Marvin Chapin of Springfield; 5th district (wards 3 and 4), 
Henry Vose; 6th district (wards 5, 6, 7, 8), Hiram Q. Sanderson 
of Springfield ; 7th district (Chicopee, LiidloAv), CTCorge H. Chap- 
man, James Renny, both of Chicopee; Sth district (Holyoke, 
AVest Springfield), Elbridge 6. Pierce of Holyoke; 9th district 
(Agawam, Southwick, Granville), Andrew J. Marvin of Sonth- 
wick; 10th district ( AA'estfield ) , George Green; 11th district, 
(Chester, Blandford, Montgomery, Tolland, Russell), Charles 
AA^. Knox of Chester. 

1859— 1st dist., Paul AA^ Paige of Brimfield; 2d dist., Henry 
Seism of Palmer ; 3d dist., Randolph Stebbins of Longmeadow ; 
4th dist., Joseph Stone of Springfield ; 5th dist., Philo F. AVil- 
cox of Springfield ; 6th dist., Otis A. Seamans of Springfield ; 7th 
dist., George M. Stearns of Chicopee and Albert Fuller of Lud- 
low ; 8th dist., George L. AA^right of AA^est Springfield ; 9th dist., 
Elisha T. Miner of Granville ; 10th dist., Addison Gage of West- 
field; 11th dist., David Cannon of Chester. 

1860— 1st dist., David F. Parker of AA^ales; 2d dist., John 
Clough of Palmer ; 3d dist., AA^illiam P. Spellraan of AVilbraham ; 
4th dist., Richard Bliss of Springfield; Sth dist., Daniel Gay of 
Springfield ; 6th dist., Ezra Kimberly of Springfield ; 7th dist., 
Joseph B. McCune and George S. Taylor of Chicopee ; 8th dist., 
AA^illiam B. C. Pearsons of Holyoke ; 9th dist., James H. Perre of 
AgaAvam; 10th dist., Jasper Raymond Rand of AVestfield; 11th 
dist., Addison M. Bradley of Russell. 

1861 — 1st dist., AA'illiam N. Flynt of Monson ; 2d dist., Solo- 
mon R. Lawrence of Palmer; 3d dist., Roderick H. Burnham of 
Longmeadow ; 4th dist., AA'^illiam B. Calhoun of Springfield ; 5th 
dist., Simeon Newell of Springfield ; 6th dist., Oliver B. Bannon 
of Springfield; 7th dist., George S. Taylor, James M. Smith of 
Chicopee ; 8th dist., Nathan Loomis of AA^est Springfield ; 9th dist., 

( 139 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Theron Rockwell of Southwick; 10th dist., David ]M. Chace of 
Westfield ; 11th dist., Samuel Hamilton of Tolland. 

1862— 1st dist., William A. Robbins of Holland; 2d dist., 
Stephen G. Newton of Palmer; 3d dist., Joseph McGregory of AVil- 
braliam ; 4th dist., Theodore Stebbins, died, succeeded by William 
B, Calhoun of Springfield ; 5th dist., W^illiam L. Smith of Spring- 
field: 6th dist., Nathaniel Howard of Springfield; 7th dist.. 
Phineas Stedman of Chicopee, Hezekiah Root of Ludlow; 8th 
dist., Thomas H. Kelt of Holyoke ; 9th dist., Reuben De Witt of 
Agawam ; 10th dist., Lewis Ruf us Norton of Westfield ; 11th dist., 
Edward M. Taylor of Montgomery. 

1863— 1st dist., Newton S. Hubbard of Brimfield; 2d dist., 
James S. Loomis of Palmer : 3d dist., Luther Markham of Long- 
meadow; 4th dist.. Eliphalet Trask of Springfield; 5th dist., 
Daniel L. Harris of Springfield ; 6th dist., Harvey E. Moseley of 
Springfield : 7th dist.. James M. Smith, AYilliam Thayer of Chico- 
pee ; 8th dist.. Richard Pettee of Holyoke: 9th dist., Samuel 
Flower of Agawam ; lOtli dist., Henry J. Bush of Westfield ; 11th 
dist.. William M. Lewis of Blandford. 

1864— 1st dist, Timothy F. Packard of ]\Ionson; 2d dist., 
Jacob Stever of Palmer; 3d dist.. Walter Hitchcock of Wilbra- 
ham: 4th dist., Warren C. Sturtevant of Springfield; 5th dist., 
Daniel L. Harris of Springfield; 6th dist., Titus Amadou of 
Springfield; 7th dist., Moses W. Chapin and Lafayette Temple 
of Chicopee : 8th dist., Nathan Loomis of West Springfield ; 9th 
dist., John Boyle of Southwick; 10th dist., Thomas Kneil of 
W^estfield ; 11th dist., Roland Parks of Russell. 

1865— 1st dist, Elijah Shaw of Wales; 2d dist., David Knox 
of Palmer; 3d dist., D. Erskine Burbank of Longmeadow; 4th 
dist, Horace J. Chapin of Springfield ; 5th dist., Charles A. Win- 
chester of Springfield: 6th dist., Lewis H. Taylor of Springfield: 
7th dist., John Wells of Chicopee and Jacob S. Eaton of Ludlow ; 
8th dist., Simeon Miller of Holyoke ; 9th dist., Cyrus Bell of Aga- 
wam ; 10th dist., Henry J. Bush of Westfield : 11th dist., Jarvis 
W. Gibbs of Russell. 

1866— 1st dist., James B. Brown of Brimfield; 2d dist., Eph- 
raim G.Bates of Palmer :3d dist., John M. INIerrick of Wilbraham ; 

( 140 ) 



CIVIL LIST 

4th dist., Horace J. Chapin of Springtield ; 5tli dist., Charles A. 
Winchester of Springfield ; 6th dist., Pliny Wood of Springfield ; 
7th dist., Emerson Gaylord, George H. Knapp of Chicopee; 8th 
dist, Justin L. Worthy of West Springfield ; 9th dist., Edward 
K. Bordotha of Agawam ; 10th dist., James G. GladAvin of West- 
field; 11th dist, Elizur D. Moore of Tolland. 

1867— 1st dist., George A. Converse of Monson ; 2d dist, 
James G. Allen of Palmer ; 3d dist., B. C. English, Thomas W. 
Wason of Springfield ; 4th dist., Daniel L. Harris of Springfield ; 
5th dist., Titus Amadon of Springfield ; 6th dist., Edwin H. Ball 
of Holyoke and Enoch V. B. Holcomb of Chicopee; 7th dist., 
Abel H. Calkins of Longmeadow and Joseph Bedortha of Aga- 
wam; 8th dist., Charles Dickerman of Westfield ; 9th dist., Beri- 
jah H. Kagwin of Montgomery. 

1868— 1st dist., Joel B. Williams of Monson ; 2d dist, Wil- 
liam K. Sessions of Wilbraham ; 3d dist., Charles L. Shaw and 
Tilly Haynes of Springfield ; 4th dist, George Walker of Spring- 
field; 5th dist., John Sevei-son of Springfield; 6th dist, Edwin 
H. Snow of Chicopee and Ezra H. Flagg of HoJyoke ; 7th dist., 
Ralph S. Bro^vn of Granville and Charles A. Fox of West Spring- 
field ; 8th dist., AYilliam G. Bates of Westfield ; 9th dist, Thad- 
dens K. De Wolf of Chester. 

1869— 1st dist., Ferdinand L. Braley of Wales; 2d dist, 
Joseph Vaill, died and succeeded by Lyman Dimock of Palmer ; 
3d dist., Tilly Haynes and Emerson Wright of Springfield ; 4th 
dist., Horace Smith of Springfield ; 5th dist., William W. Ama- 
don of Springfield; 6th dist., S. H. AA^alker of Holyoke and 
Jerome Wells of Chicopee ; 7th dist., William Melcher of West 
Springfield and Edwin Gilbert of Southwiek ; 8th dist., Samuel 
Horton of Westfield ; 9th dist, Franklin C. Knox of Blandford. 

1870— 1st dist., Samuel W. Brown of Brimfield ; 2d dist., Ira 
G. Potter of Wilbraham ; 3d dist., Emerson W^right and Justin 
M. Cooley of Springfield ; 4th dist., Daniel L. Harris of Spring- 
field ; 5th dist., David Powers of Springfield ; 6th dist, Lewis M. 
Ferris of Chicopee and Henry A. Pratt of Holyoke ; 7th dist., 
Lester Williams of W^est Springfield and Larone Hills of Long- 
meadow ; 8th dist., Samuel Horton of Westfield ; 9th dist., Dex- 
ter Parks of Russell. 

( 141 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

1871 — 1st dist., George L. AVebber of Holland; 2d dist., 
Ebenezei- Brown of Palmer; 3d dist., Emerson Wright and Jus- 
tin M. Cooler of Springfield ; 4th dist, Gurdon Bill of Spring- 
field : 5th dist., Joseph M. Hall of Springfield ; 6th dist.. Charles 
A. Corser of Holyoke and Henry H. Harris of Chicopee ; 7th dist., 
G. C. S. Southworth of West Springfield and Silas Noble of Gran- 
ville : 8th dist., Alexander McKenzie of Westfield ; 9th dist., La- 
fayette Granger of Tolland. 

1872— 1st dist.. Rice S. Munn of Monson; 2d dist., Ephraim 
Allen of Wilbraham : 3d dist., James Parker and John W. Phelps 
of Springfield; 4th dist., AV. C. Sturtevant of Springfield; 5th 
dist., C. C. Merritt of Springfield; 6th dist., George Arms of 
Chicopee (resigned, succeeded by Roswell P. Crafts) and Reuben 
Sikes of Ludlow ; 7th dist., Ralph Perry of Agawam and Ansel 
H. AVard of AA^est Springfield : 8th dist., Lewis R. Norton of AA' est- 
field : 9th dist., Timothy Keefe of Chester. 

1873— 1st dist., Thomas J. Morgan of Brimfield; 2d dist., 
James B. Shaw of Palmer : 3d dist., Charles R. Ladd and H. INI. 
French of Springfield ; 4th dist., A. L. Soule of Springfield : 5th 
dist., Henry AA^ Phelps of Springfield ; 6th dist., Edward AA^. 
Chapin of Holyoke and AVilliam R. Kentfield of Chicopee; 7th 
dist., Oliver AYolcott of Longmeadow and Aaron Bagg of AA^est 
Spring-field; 8th dist., Lewis R. Norton of AVestfield; 9th dist, 
Francis AA^. Clark of Montgomery. 

1874— 1st dist., Julius M. Lyon of AA^ales; 2d dist., Francis 
E. Clark of AA^ilbraham : 3d dist., E. E. Gray and Charles L. 
Shaw of Springfield : 4th dist., Smith R. Phillips of Springfield ; 
5th dist., Henry W. Phelps of Springfield ; 6th dist., George D. 
Robinson of Chicopee and Allen Higginbottom of Holyoke; 7th 
dist., E. H. Seymour and Rufus Smith of Granville; 8th dist., 
Reuben Noble of AA^estfield ; 9th dist., Enos AV. Boise of Bland- 
ford. 

1875— 1st dist, Daniel G. Green of Monson; 2d dist, 
Charles L. Gardner of Palmer ; 3d dist., Charles L. ShaAV and T. 
D. Beach of Springfield; 4th dist, James Abbe of Springfield; 
5th dist, Alfred IM. Copeland of Springfield ; 6th dist., Jacob AV. 
Davis of Holyoke and S. A. Jacobs of Chicopee ; 7th dist., Emer- 

( 142 ) 



CIVIL LIST 

son Geer of AVest Springfield and Samuel Flower of Agawam; 
8th dist., Reuben Noble of Westfield : 9th dist., Edward E. Gibbs 
of Russell. 

1876— 1st dist., Rice M. Reynolds of IMonson ; 2d dist., 
Charles L. Gardner of Palmer ; 3d dist., Stephen E. Seymour and 
Charles AV. Richards of Springfield; 4th dist., James Abbe of 
Springfield ; 5th dist., Chris. C. Merritt of Springfield ; 6th dist., 
Edwin L. Kirtland of Holyoke and Charles A. Taylor of Chico- 
pee ; 7th dist., John M. Gibbs of Granville and Thomas F. Cordis 
of Longmeadow : 8th dist., Reuben Noble of AVestfield ; 9th dist., 
George AV. Granger of Tolland. 

1877— 1st dist.. Rice M. Reynolds of Monson ; 2d dist., Hor- 
ace M. Sessions of AA^ilbraham; 3d dist., AVarren S. Bragg of Chic- 
opee ; 4th dist.. Charles AA"". Richards and Ephraim A. Perkins of 
Springfield; 5th dist., Leonard Clark of Springfield; 6th dist., 
Theodore AA^ Ellis of Springfield ; 7th dist., John C. Perry of 
Spring-field ; 8th dist.. John H. AVright of Holyoke ; 9th dist., 
James H. Newton of Holyoke; 10th dist., Francis S. Eggleston 
of AA^estfield and Stephen H. Bodurtha of Agawam; 11th dist., 
George N. Cone of Chester. 

1878— 1st dist., Pliny F. Spaulding of Brimfield ; 2d dist, 
Timothy D. Potter of Palmer; 3d dist.. James P. Kelly of Chico- 
pee : 4th dist., AA'illiam Pynchon and Theodore Beach of Spring- 
field ; 5th dist.. Leonard Clark of Springfield ; 6th dist., Rawson 
Hathaway of Springfield; 7th dist., Marcus P. Knowlton of 
Springfield: 8th dist., John H. AVright of Holyoke; 9th dist, E. 
P. Bartholomew of AA^est Springfield ; 10th dist, Joseph G. Noble 
of AA^estfield and Henry S. Stiles of Montgomery ; 11th dist., Ed- 
win Gilbert of Southwick. 

1879— 1st dist., AVilliam J. Ricketts of Monson; 2d dist., 
Benjamin F. Burr of Ludlow ; 3d dist.. Frank M. Horton of 
Chicopee : 4th dist., AVilliam Pynchon and Jonathan E. Shipman 
of Springfield : 5th dist., Charles R. Ladd of Springfield ; 6th 
dist.. Eleazer S. Beebe of Longmeadow ; 7th dist., Elisha B. May- 
nard of Springfield ; 8th dist.. Thomas L. Keough of Holyoke ; 
9th dist., Joseph Murray of Holyoke ; 10th dist., Merritt J. Van 
Deusen and James H. Bryan of AA'estfield ; 11th dist., Ethan D. 
Dickinson of Granville. 

( 143 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

1880— 1st dist., John C. Burley of Wales; 2d dist., Joseph 
F. Holbrook of Pahner; 3d dist, Dwight L. Shaw of Chieopee ; 
4t.h dist., Hinsdale Smith and Jonathan E. Shipman of Spring- 
field ; 5th dist., Edwin D. Metealf of Springfield ; 6th dist., Henry 
M. Phillips of Springfield ; 7th dist., C. C. Merritt of Springfield ; 
8th dist., Michael J. Teahan of Holyoke ; 9th dist., John Delaney 
of Holyoke ; 10th dist., Merritt Van Deiisen of Westfield and J. 
Henry Churchill of Agawam ; 11th dist., Samuel A. Bartholmew 
of Blandford. 

1881— 1st dist., Solomon F. Cushman of Monson ; 2d dist., 
Chauncey E. Peck of Wilbraham; 3d dist., John Goodwin of 
Chieopee ; 4th dist., Josiah Bumstead and Hubert M. Coney of 
Springfield ; 5th dist., Edwin D. Metealf of Springfield ; 6th dist., 
Henry M. Phillips of Springfield ; 7th dist., Chris. C. Merritt of 
Springfield ; 8th dist., John H. AA^right of Holyoke ; 9th dist., Ash- 
ton E. Hemphill of Holyoke; 10th dist., Edward C. Carpenter 
and John W. Colton of AVestfield ; 11th dist., George F. Bryant 
of Russell. 

1882— 1st dist., William L. AA'ebber of Holland; 2d dist., 
William Holbrook of Palmer ; 3d dist., Frank H. Morton of 
Chieopee ; 4th dist., Theodore D. Beach and Wilson Eddy of 
Springfield; 5th dist., George P. Stebbins of Springfield; 6th 
dist., Joseph Scott of Springfield; 7th dist., John L. Rice, re- 
signed and succeeded by Edward H. Lathrop of Springfield ; 8th 
dist., John H. Wright of Holyoke ; 9th dist., Isaac B. Lowell of 
AVest Springfield ; 10th dist., Edward C. Carpenter and John W. 
Colton of Westfield ; 11th dist.. Homer P. Twining of Tolland. 

1883— 1st dist., Solomon F. Cushman of Monson; 2d dist., 
AA^arren D. Fuller of Ludlow ; 3d dist., Ansel F. AVildes of Chieo- 
pee ; 4th dist., John Olmstead and Theodore D. Beach of Spring- 
field ; 5th dist., John B. Stebbins of Springfield ; 6th dist., Charles 
F. Newell of Longmeadow ; 7th dist., Charles Fuller of Spring- 
field ; 8th dist., Jeremiah J. Donahue, deceased and succeeded by 
John H. AVright of Holyoke; 9th dist., A. Higginbottom of Hol- 
yoke; 10th dist., AVilliam H. AA^hitney of AA^estfield and EdAvin 
Leonard 2d of Agawam ; 11th dist., Charles H. Knox of Chester. 

1884— 1st dist., Lucius A. Cutler of Brimfield ; 2d dist., Oren 
B. Smith of Palmer; 3d dist., Erastus Stebbins of Chieopee; 4th 

( 144 ) 



CIVIL LIST 

dist., Charles W. Kicliards and Frank E. Carpenter of Spring- 
field; 5tli dist., Frank E. Winter of Springfield; 6th dist., Ed- 
mund P. Kendriek of Springfield; 7th dist., Nathaniel Howard 
of Springfield ; 8th dist, John H. Wright of Holyoke ; 9th dist., 
Wilbert T. Dean of Holyoke; 10th dist., Charles N. Oakes and 
Eber A. Eggleston of Westfield ; 11th dist., Edwin Gilbert of 
Southwiek. 

1885 — 1st dist., Wilson M. Tucker of Monson ; 2d dist., 
Moses H. Warren of Hampden ; 3d dist., Matthew Ryan of Chico- 
pee; 4th dist., Charles W. Richards and Charles C. Smith of 
Springfield ; 5th dist., William F. Cook of Springfield ; 6th dist., 
Edmund P. Kendriek of Springfield ; 7th dist., Edwin S. Stacy 
of Springfield: 8th dist., John H. Wright of Holyoke; 9th dist., 
Ashton E. Hemphill of Holyoke ; 10th dist., Charles N. Oakes and 
Eber A. Eggleston of Westfield ; 11th dist., Marshall V. Stowe of 
Granville. 

1886— 1st dist., Alvin A. Hubbard of Wales; 2d dist., Ste- 
phen S. Taft of Palmer; 3d dist., Matthew Ryan of Chicopee ; 4th 
dist, Charles C. Smith and John L. Knight of Springfield; 5th 
dist, William F. Cook of Springfield ; 6th dist., John S. Sander- 
son of Springfield ; 7th dist., Edward H. Lathrop of Springfield ; 
8th dist., Jeremiah J. Keane of Holyoke; 9th dist., Levi Perkins 
of Holyoke ; 10th dist., William H. Whitney and William Provin 
of Westfield ; 11th dist., Henry K. Herrick of Blandford. 

1887 — 1st dist, Seth N. Bennett of Agawam ; 2d dist, Wil- 
liam Provin and William H. Foote of Westfield ; 3d dist., Dwight 
0. Judd of Holyoke; 4th dist., Jeremiah J. Keane of Holyoke; 
5th dist., Norris R. Wood of Chicopee ; 6th dist., John L. Knight 
and George W. Miller of Springfield ; 7th dist., Charles C. Spell- 
man of Springfield ; 8th dist., Fred A. Judd and John S. Ander- 
son of Springfield ; 9th dist., John Broekbank of Monson ; 10th 
dist., Stephen S. Taft of Palmer. 

1888— 1st dist., Charles H. Knox of Chester; 2d dist., 
Charles Fay Shepard and William Provin of Westfield ; 3d dist., 
Reuben Winchester of Holyoke ; 4th dist, Jeremiah J. Keane of 
Holyoke ; 5th dist., George W. Gibson of Chicopee ; 6th dist, Wil- 
liam F. Ferry and Ethan C. Robinson of Springfield ; 7th dist., 

10-1 ( 145 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

A. Olin Brooks of Springfield; 8th dist., Charles A. Call and 
Charles H. Bennett of Spring-field ; 9tli dist., Heniy Clark of 
Wilbraham ; 10th dist., Charles F. Grosvenor of Ludlow. 

1889 — 1st dist., John B. Ripley of Granville; 2d dist., Oren 

B. Parks and Robert B. Crane of Westfield ; 3d dist., John Hil- 
dreth of Holyoke ; 4th dist., Jeremiah J. Keane of Holyoke ; 5tli 
dist., George D. Eldredge of Chicopee ; 6th dist., William F. 
Ferry and Hiram B. Lane of Springfield; 7th dist., A. Olin 
Brooks of Springfield ; 8th dist., Charles A. Call and Charles H. 
Bennett of Springfield ; 9th dist.. Lnrin J. Potter of Long- 
meadow ; 10th dist., William W. Leach of Palmer. 

1890— 1st dist., Dwight H. Hollister of Southwick; 2d dist., 
Oren B. Parks and Robert B. Crane of Westfield ; 3d dist., John 
Hildreth of Holyoke ; 4th dist., William P. Buckley of Holyoke ; 
5th dist., George D. Eldredge of Chicopee ; 6th dist., George W. 
Miller and Hiram B. Lane of Springfield ; 7th dist., John McFeth- 
ries of Spring-field ; 8th dist., Herman Bnekholz and Charles H. 
Bennett of Springfield ; 9th dist., Carlos M. Gage of Monson ; 
10th dist., Horace H. Sanders of Palmer. 

1891— 1st dist., James AY. Knox of Blandford : 2d dist., 
James A. Lakin of Westfield and Ethan Brooks of West Spring- 
field ; 3d dist., James Ramage of Holyoke ; 4th dist., William P. 
Buckley of Holyoke; 5th dist., Eugene O'Neil of Chicopee; 6th 
dist., Frederick H. Gillett and Hiram B. Lane of Springfield; 
7th dist., John McFethries of Springfield; 8th dist., Herman 
Buckholz and Henry S. Dickinson of Springfield ; 9th dist., Her- 
bert A. McFarland of Wales : 10th dist., H. E. W. Clark of 
Palmer. 

1892— 1st dist.. Erastus D. Larkin of Tolland; 2d dist., 
James A. Lakin and Henry W. Ashley of Westfield; 3d dist., 
Richard G. Kilduff of Holyoke ; 4th dist., WiUiam P. Buckley of 
Holyoke; 5th dist.. Eugene J. O'Neil of Chicopee: 6th dist., 
Frederick H. Gillett and John W. Adams of Springfield ; 7th 
dist., Edwin F. Lyford of Springfield; 8th dist., John A. Dris- 
coll and Edward S. Brewer of Springfield: 9th dist.. Sumner 
Smith of Hampden ; 10th dist., Hiram E. W. Clark of Palmer. 

1893 — 1st dist., William H. Granger of Agawam; 2d dist., 
Arthur S. Kneil and Henry W. Ashley of Westfield : 3d dist., 

( 146 ) 



CIVIL LIST 

Frank L. Buck of Holyoke : 4th dist., Roger P. Donahue of Hol- 
yoke; 5th dist., Eugene J. O'Neil of Chicopee; 6th dist, Ralph 
W. Ellis and John W. Adams of Springfield; 7th dist, Edwin 
F. Lyford of Springfield: 8th dist, Stephen C. Warriner and 
Edward S. Brewer of Springfield: 9th dist., Alvin A. Gage of 
Monson ; 10th dist., Edward C. Fuller of Ludlow. 

1894-lst dist, Clayton D. Smith of Chester ; 2d dist.. Henry 
C. Bliss of West Springfield and Arthur S. Kneil of Westfield ; 
3d dist., Dwight H. Ives of Holyoke ; 4th dist., Eugene Finn of 
Holyoke; 5th dist., Alexander Grant of Chicopee; 6th dist., 
Henry F. Sampson and Joseph L, Shipley of Springfield ; 7th 
dist., Edward S. Bradford of Springfield ; 8th dist, Benj. C. Har- 
vey and Stephen C. Warriner of Springfield ; 9th dist., Jason 
Butler of Wilbraham : 10th dist., Henry G. Loomis of Palmer. 

1895-lst dist., Silas B. Root of Granville; 2d dist, Henry 
C. Bliss of West Springfield, and William H. Foote of Westfield ; 
3d dist., Dwight H. Ives of Holyoke; 4th dist., John F. Sheehan, 
of Holyoke : 5th dist., Alexander Grant of Chicopee ; 6th dist., 
Lyman H. Perkins and George AV. Turner of Springfield; 7th 
dist.. Charles L. Young of Springfield: 8th dist, Benj. C. Har- 
vey and Stephen C. Warriner of Springfield; 9th dist, J. Mar- 
shall Burt of East Longmeadow ; 10th dist, Horace E. Wallis of 
Holland. 

1896— 1st dist., Calvin S. Miller of Southwick: 2d dist., S. 
Augustus Allen and Henry M. Van Deusen of Westfield; 3d 
dist., Patrick J. Kennedy of Holyoke ; 4th dist., John F. Sheehan 
of Holyoke: 5th dist, Henry J. Boyd of Chicopee; 6th dist, 
George E. Fuller and Willmore B. Stone of Springfield; 7th 
dist. Charles L. Young of Springfield; 8th dist., Benjamin C. 
Harvey and Francis R. Richmond of Springfield; 9th dist, 
Charles W. King of INIonson ; 10th dist., Thomas W. Kenefick of 
Palmer. 

1897— 1st dist, Thomas W. Kenefick of Palmer; 2d dist, 
William H. Porter of Agawam : 3d dist., George F. Fuller and 
Willmore B. Stone of Springfield : 4th dist., Henry H. Bosworth 
and Albert T. Folsom of Springfield : 5th dist., Charles E. Hoag 
of Springfield ; 6th dist., Henry J. Boyd of Chicopee : 7th dist., 

{ u: ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Thomas J. Dooling and John F. Sheehan of Holyoke ; 8th dist., 
Patrick J. Kennedy of Holyoke ; 9th dist., Andrew Campbell of 
AVestfield and Frank P. Sargent of West Springfield. 

1898— 1st dist., Thomas W. Kenefick of Palmer; 2d dist., 
Arthur D. King of Ludlow; 3d dist., (ieorge F. Fuller and Will- 
more B. Stone of Springfield ; 4th dist., Henry H. Bosworth and 
Albert T. Folsom of Springfield; 5th dist., Charles E. Hoag of 
Springfield ; 6th dist., Daniel J. Driscoll 2d of Chicopee ; 7th 
dist., Thomas J. Dooling and John F. Sheehan of Holyoke ; 8th 
dist., Ashton E. Hemphill of Holyoke; 9th dist., S. Augustus 
Allen and Andrew Campbell of Westfield. 

1899— 1st dist.. Nelson A. Bugbee of Monson ; 2d dist., Cal- 
vin S. Miller of Southwick ; 3d dist., Lewis D. Robinson and 
AVillmore B. Stone of Springfield ; 4th dist., Albert T. Folsom 
and Herbert C. Puffer of Springfield ; 5th dist., Edward M. Lom- 
bard of Springfield; 6th dist., Daniel J. Driscoll of Chicopee; 
7th dist., Thomas J. Dillon and Thomas J. Dooling of Holyoke; 
8th dist., William E. Judd of Holyoke; 9th dist., Andrew Camp- 
bell and Frank S. Dewey, jr., of Westfield. 

1900— 1st dist.. Nelson A. Bugbee of Monson; 2d dist, 
Charles C. Beebe of Wilbraham ; 3d dist., Lewis D. Robinson 
and Willmore B. Stone of Springfield ; 4th dist., John F. Marsh 
and AYilliam S. Warriner of Springfield ; 5th dist., Benjamin C. 
Harvey of Springfield ; 6th dist., Daniel J. Driscoll of Chicopee ; 
7th dist., Thomas J. Dooling and Thomas J. Dillon of Holyoke; 
8th dist., Augustus W. Esleeek of Holyoke ; 9th dist., Frank S. 
Dewey, jr., of Westfield, and Ceorge H. Hapgood of Chester. 

1901— 1st dist., Joseph H. Loudon of Wales; 2d dist., 
Joseph Welch of Cranville ; 3d dist., Eugene C. Gardner and 
Alexander C. Methven of Springfield ; 4th dist., Fordis C. Par- 
ker and William S. Warriner of Springfield ; 5th dist., Fred A. 
Bearse of Springfield ; 6th dist., Bernard F. jMitchell of Chico- 
pee ; 7th dist., Edward D. Bunyan and Thomas J. Dillon of Hol- 
yoke ; 8th dist., John F. Chase of Holyoke ; 9th dist., Frank S. 
Dewey and Harold P. Moseley of Westfield. 

Speakers of the i/oi(se— William B. Calhoun, 1828-34; 
George Ashmun, 1841 ; George Bliss, 1853. 

( 148 ) 



CIVIL LIST 

Clerks of the House — William Stowe, 1854:, and 1857-61. 

CJiief Justice. Supreme Judicial Court — Reuben Atwater 
Chapman, 1868-73. 

Justices of tJie Supreme Judicial Court — Reuben Atwater 
Chapman, 1860, appointed Chief Justice, 1868, died 1873 ; John 
Wells, 1866-75. died 1875; Augustus Lord Soule, 1877-81, re- 
signed, died 1887; Marcus Perrin Knowlton, appointed 1887, still 
in office. 

Justices of tJie Court of Common Pleas — (Court established 
1820 and abolished in 1859), David Cummins, 1828-44, resigned, 
died 1855 : Henry Morris, 1855-59, died 1888. 

Justices of the Superior Court— ^eiwy Vose, 1859-69; Mar- 
cus Perrin Knowlton, 1881-87, appointed to Supreme Judicial 
Court; Justin Dewey, 1886-1900; James Robert Dunbar, 1888- 
^S: Elisha Burr Maynard, 1891— still in office. 

Justices of the Court of ^essio/?s^— Samuel Fowler, 1812-13; 
Gideon Burt, 1812-13 : Isaac Coit, 1812-13 ; Joshua Frost, 1812- 
13; Abel Bliss. 1812-13; Abner Brown, 1813-19; Heman Day, 
1813-28: Ethan Ely, 1813-14; William Ely, 1814-18; Amos Ham- 
ilton, 1819-20 ; Stephen Pynchon, 1819-23 ; Sylvester Emmons, 
1819-25; James Stebbins, 1823-28: Joseph Forward, 1826-28. 

Judges of Pro?>a^e-— Samuel Fowler, 1812; John Hooker, 
1813 ; Oliver B. Morris, 1829. 

Judges of Probate and Insolvency— John Wells, 1858-63; 
William S. Shurtleff, 1863-96 ; Charles L. Long, 1896-now in 
office. 

Judge of lusolvency— John M. Stebbins, 1856-59. 

Registers of Prohate^-^Xinmm Blair, 1812-13: Oliver B. 
Morris, 1813-29; Justice Willard, 1829-51; William L. Smith, 
1851-53; Henry Smith, 1853-55: Charles A. Winchester, 1855- 
57 ; Charles R. Ladd, 1857-59. 

Registers of Probate and Insolvency— WilliRm S. Shurtleff, 
1859-63 ; Samuel B. Spooner, 1863-1901 and now in office. 

'This court originally was the administrative power of the county, and as 
such had control of the public properties. It passed out of existence in 1828. 

2CoI. John Pynchon, of Springfield, was appointed judge of probate of Hamp- 
shire county in 1692. 

5John Pynchon was register of probate from 1703 to 1729. 

( 149 ) 



OVB COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Registers of Insolvency — Charles A, Winchester, 1856-57; 
William S. Shiirtlefie, 1857-59. 

Police Court of Springfield, Justices— 3 ames H. Morton, 

1850-76; Gideon AVells, 1876-89 ; Henry W. Bosworth, 1889-1901. 

Special Justices— Charles A. AVinchester, Edward Morris, 

Samuel B. Spooner, Alfred M. Copeland, Henry AV. Bos- 
worth, Charles L. Long, Edwin F. Lyford. 

Police Court of Cliicopee, J ustices— Mortimer D. AVhitaker, 
1855-63 ; EdAvin 0. Carter, 1863-81 ; Loraniis E. Hitchcock, 1881- 
1901. 

Special Ji/s^tces— Jonathan R. Childs, George S. Taylor, 

Edwin 0. Carter, Charles Sherman, Charles H. Williams, 

Simon G. Southworth, Luther White, AVilliam AV. McClench, 

James H. Loomis. 

Police Court of Holyoke, Justices— Joseph P. Buckland, 
1871-77 ; AAmiiam B. C. Pearsons, 1877-98 ; Edward AA^ Chapin, 
1898-1901. 

Special Justices— For ter P. Underwood, AVilliam B. C. 

Pearsons, Edward W. Chapin, Harris L. Sherman, William 

Slattery, Jabes AV. Carney, John Hildreth, Robert A. Allyn. 

District Court of Eastern Hampden, Justices— James G. 
Allen, 1872-79; George Robinson, 1879-98; AAlUiam AV. Leach, 
1898-1901. 

Special Justices— George Robinson, Ira G. Potter, Henry 

F. Brown, James B. Shaw% George H. NeAvton, Herbert A. 

McFarland. 

District Court of ^Vestern Hampden, Justices— Yiom.er B. 
Stevens, 1886-1901. 

Special Justices— H. B. Lewis, Henry Fuller, AAlUis S. 

Kellogg, Alfred F. Lilley. 

District Attorneys- (Previous to 1832 this office was known 
as ' ' County Attorney, ' ' the incumbent then representing the 
county, but afterward being an officer of a district.^ Hampden 
county forms a part of the Avestern district of Massachusetts).— 
Oliver B. Alorris, 1812 ; George Bliss, 1812-17 ; Samuel Lathrop, 

^Names of Hampden county incumbents only are given. 
( 150 ) 



CIVIL LIST 

1817-21; Oliver B. Morris, 1821-32; William G. Bates, 1853; 
Edward B. Gillett, 1857-72 ; George M. Stearns, 1872-74 ; N. A. 
Leonard, 1874-75 ; E. Howard Lathrop, 1875-78 ; N, A. Leonard, 
1878-81 ; Charles L. Gardner, 1882-1901, now in office. 

Clerks of the Court^ (and ex-officio county clerks)— John 
Ingersoll, 1812-41; Richard Bliss, 1841-52; George B. Morris, 
1852-72 ; Robert 0. Morris, 1872-1901, and now in office. 

/SVitri/Z's— Jonathan Smith, jr., 1812-14; John Phelps, 1814- 
31 ; Caleb Rice, 1831-51 ; Justin Wilson, 1851-53 ; Patrick Boise, 
1853-55; Nathaniel Cutler, 1855-57; Robert G. Marsh, 1857-60; 
Frederick Bush, 1860-69; A. M. Bradley, 1869-78; Hiram Q. 
Sanderson, 1878-87 ; Simon Brooks, 1887-93 ; Embury P. Clark, 
1893-1902, now in office. 

County 2'reflsi<rer^— Edward Pynchon, 1812-30; David 
Paine, 1830-35 ; George Colton, 1835-38 ; William Rice, 1838-56 ; 
Norman Norton, 1856-59 ; Charles R. Ladd, 1859-67 ; M. Wells 
Bridge, 1867-1891; AVilliam C. Marsh, 1891-1894; M. Wells 
Bridge, 1894, still in office. 

Registers of Dcec/s— Edward Pynchon, 1812-30; David 
Paine, 1830-31 ; William Rice, 1831-58 ; James E. Russell, 1858- 
1893 ; James Russell Wells, January, 1893, now in office. 

County Commissioners— Caleb Rice, 1828-31; Joel Norcross, 
1828-35; Reuben Boies, jr., 1828-35; William Bliss, 1831-35; 
James W. Crooks, 1835-38 ; Gideon Stiles, 1835-38 ; Cyrus Knox, 
1835-38; John Ward, 1838-44; Patrick Boise, 1841-44; Forbes 
Kyle, 1841-44; Willis Phelps, 1844-47; Samuel Root, 1844-50; 
Austin Fuller, 1844-47 ; Penning Leavitt, 1847-50 ; John McCray, 
1847-50; Norman T. Leonard, 1850-53; William V. Sessions, 
1850-53 ; Melvin Copeland, 1850-53 ; William B. Calhoun, 1853- 
55 ; Alured Homer, 1853-57 ; George C. Gibbs, 1853-56 ; Francis 
Brewer, 1855-58 ; Henry Fuller, 1856-59 ; Henry F. Brown, 1857- 
60; Nelson D. Parks, 1858-64; Henry Charles, 1859-62; Henry 

^Elizur Holyoke, of Springfield, was clerk of courts of Hampshire county 
from September, 1660, to 1676 ; John Holyoke from 1678 to 1693, and John Pyn- 
chon from Dec. 1693, to 1735. 

^John Pynchon was treasurer of Hampshire county until 1681, and again 
for several years after 1689. William Pynchon was treasurer from about 1796 
to 1808, and Edward Pynchon from 1808 to Nov. 1812. 

( 151 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Fuller, 1860-63; Benning Leavitt, 1862-65; Daniel G. Potter, 
1863-69 ; Charles C. Wright, 1864-67 : Ambrose N. Merrick, 1865- 
6S ; William U. Lewis, 1867-76 ; Phineas Stedman, 1867-71 ; Kan- 
dolph Stebbins, 1869-71; George R. Townsley, 1871-74; James S. 
Loomis, 1871-74; Lawson Sibley, 1873-76; John 0. Donnell. 
1874-77 : L. F. Thayer, 1875-78 ; N. S. Hubbard, 1876-79 ; Leon- 
ard Chase, 1877-80 ; Edwin Chase, 1878-81 ; Lewis F. Root, 1879- 
82 ; Leonard Chase, 1880-83 ; Henry A. Chase, 1881-84 ; Lewis F. 
Root, 1882-85 ; Leonard Clark, 1883-86 ; Henry A. Chase, 1884- 
87 ; Lewis F. Root, 1885-88 ; Leonard Clark, 1886-89 ; Ansel F. 
Wilde, 1887-90; Lewis F. Root, 1888-91; Leonard Clark, 1889- 
92 ; Harvey D. Bagg, 1890-93 ; Lewis F. Root, 1891-94 : Leonard 
Clark, 1892-95 ; Harvey D. Bagg, 1893-96 ; William H. Brainerd, 
1894-97 ; James M. Sickman, 1894-96 ; Timothy M. Brown, 1895- 
98; James M. Sickman, 1896-99; William H. Brainerd, 1897- 
1900; Joel M. Hendrick, 1898-1901; James M. Sickman, 1899- 
1902 ; William H. Brainerd, 1900-03 ; Joel M. Hendrick, 1901-04. 



CHAPTER XII 

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 

Throughout the long period of more than a century and a 
half after the earliest settlements in the Connecticut valley no 
attempt was made to establish a thoroughfare of travel and 
transportation betAveen the thickly settled localities of Eastern 
Massachusetts and the rapidly growing towns in the Avestern part 
of the province. The pioneers Avho made the first settlement on 
the site of Springfield are said to have availed themselves of two 
means of travel — land and water. 

According to established tradition, Mr. Pynchon's company 
sent their goods from the Roxbury plantation to Agawam in 
Governor Winthrop's sailing vessel, by way of the ocean. Long 
Island sound and the Connecticut river, while the adventurous 

( 152 ) 




The Boston Stone, a historic landmark in Benton Park, Springfield 

History ascribes tlie erection of tliis stone to Josepli Wait, a mercliant of Brools- 
field, who lost liis way in a blinding snowstorm and wandered out of the 
traveled path of the Boston Road. That other travelers should not be like- 
wise beset Mr. Wait erected the stone in 17G3. 



01 R COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

pioneers themselves crossed the country on foot, following the 
Indian trail that led through the Nipmuck country direct to their 
place of destination. Thus, the Indian trail, Avhich was only a 
well beaten path through the forests, became the first route of 
travel between the Connecticut valley and the home settlements. 
In the course of a few years increasing westward emigration 
required better facilities for transportation of goods, and the 
trail was widened to alloAv the passage of wagons. Then it took 
the name of the ''Bay path," in allusion to its eastern terminus, 
and so continued to be known until a few years before the revo- 
lution, when the more dignified name of "Boston road" was 
given to it. 

But notwithstanding its prominence as a route of travel the 
Boston road was hardly more than a narrow wagon path until 
after the close of the revolution, and as late as 1763 Joseph Wait, 
a Brookfield merchant, lost his way just on the outskirts of the 
Springfield settlement, at a point now almost in the center of the 
city. Soon after this event Mr. Wait, Avho appears to have been 
something of a philanthropist, set up a substantial guide post by 
the wayside for the benefit of wayfarers in later years ; and the 
stone still stands, having been carefully preserved through all 
subsequent years as an interesting relic of early days. 

Under the colonial rule, and indeed until after the close of 
the revolution and the adoption of the constitution of the com- 
monwealth, no steps were taken to establish routes of travel in the 
state, but soon after the suppression of Shays' insurrection the 
legislature Avas besieged with applications for charters for turn- 
pike companies, to be laid out chiefly in western IMassachusetts. 
These companies generally Avere numbered in the order of incor- 
poration. 

The First Massachusetts turnpike corporation, the first of 
the companies Avhose line of road Avas laid out in Avhole or in part 
in this county, Avas chartered by the legislature June 11, 1796, 
and named as incorporators a formidable array of persons. 
Many of these proprietors Avere Palmer men, hence the names of 
all of them maj^ properly be given here : Levi Pease, Ephraim 
]\IoAA-er, Nathaniel Oorham, Moses Bliss, Thomas DAAnght, Jona- 

( 154 ) 



INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 

than Dwight, Dwight Foster, John Hastings, David Sexton, Sam- 
uel Fowler, Ebenezer Hunt, Daniel Goulding, Samuel Henshaw, 
John Hooker, Erastus Lyman, Joseph Lyman, Levi Lincoln, 
Pliny Merrick, Ebenezer Mattoon, Charles Phelps, Nathaniel 
Paine, AYarham Parks, Benjamin Prescott, William Shepard, 
Levi Shepard, Simeon Strong, Phineas Upham, Samuel "Ward, 
John Williams, Samuel Flagg and Salem Town. This company 
was authorized to construct and maintain a toll road,^ at least 
three rods wide, from Western Bridge, in Worcester county, to 
the ''county road" near Scott's tavern in Palmer. 

The Eighth Massachusetts turnpike corporation was char- 
tered February 24, 1800, and was authorized to construct and 
operate a toll road, "beginning on the line between Westfield 
and Kussell, in the road near Westfield river, on the south side 
thereof, thence to run by said river through Russell and Bland- 
ford to Falley 's store ; thence by the west branch through Bland- 
ford and Chester to the house of Elias Leonard ; thence by the 
commonly called 'Government road' into Becket." 

In the to^^^ls of Blandford, Russell and Chester this road 
was a highway of great importance, in which the entire region 
apparently was interested, if the number of incorporators may 
be taken as an index of public sentiment. They were Joseph 
Stebbins, James S. DAvight, George Bliss, Zebina Stebbins, Alex- 
ander Bliss, William Smith, Jeremiah Woodsworth, John Cald- 
well, John INIorgan, Joseph Hart, Christopher LeffingA\^ell, Justin 
Ely, Peletiah Bliss, Jeremiah Stebbins, Jonathan Smith, Samuel 
Master, Warham Parks, William Shepard, James Taylor, Zach- 

^The reader of course will understand that all turnpike road companies were 
incorporated for business purposes, and that the hope of financial gain was the 
motive of the proprietors rather than the development of the country through 
which the i-oad was intended to he laid out. The laws regulating companies 
of this character authorized the opening and maintenance of toll roads and the 
erection of toll-houses and gates at certain distances. At each toll-house was 
a gate-keeper, whose duty was to collect tolls from each traveler over the road. 
The fares authorized to be charged were regulated by statute, and were sub- 
stantially the same with each company. The "rates of toll" charged by the 1st 
Mass. turnpike company were as follows : For every curricle, 16 cts ; every 
chaise, chair or other carriage drawn by one horse, 12 cts and 5 mills; every 
sleigh drawn by two horses, 6 cts, and by more than two horses, 2 cts for each 
horse ; "oxen horses" and neat cattle, led or driven, one cent and five mills. 

( 155 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

ariah Bush, Ashbel Eager, Adriali Sacket, Israel Ashley, Noah 
Phelps, Titus Doolittle, Reuben Parks, Daniel Falley, David 
Mack, James Gilman, Oliver Bush, Elias Leonard, James Harris, 
Hiram T^Iessenger, Henry Vanschaak, Moses Rigsbee, Azariah 
Eggleston, Seth Lathrop, Silas King, AYilliam Pynchon, Samuel 
Lyman, Horace AVhite, Heman Day, John Hooker, John Inger- 
soll, Elijah Bates, William King and Samuel Fowler. 

The Eleventh Massachusetts turnpike corporation was char- 
tered June 19, 1801, and was another prominent thoroughfare of 
travel during the early years of the nineteenth century. Its 
incorporators numbered more than fifty men of the territory 
through which it was laid out, and if local tradition be true the 
road had an interesting early history, both in this and Berkshire 
county. It began on the Connecticut line, at the northern ter- 
minus of a turnpike built by a company of that state, and ran 
through the east parish of Granville to Blandf ord meeting house : 
thence through the "town street" of Blandford, by the usual 
"Pittsfield road," so called, into Becket, and there united with 
the road built by the Eighth turnpike company. The act pro- 
vided that the company be organized, and its officers elected, at 
the house of Solomon Noble, "innholder," in Blandford. 

The Thirteenth turnpike corporation was chartered June 19, 
1801, and its projectors were by the act authorized to build a toll 
road from the Connecticut line, near Holmes' mill, to the meeting 
house in the middle parish in Granville, and thence to the west- 
erly part of Loudon, in Berkshire county. The company was 
organized at the house of Linus Bates, in Granville, in August, 
1801. 

The Chester turnpike corporation, whose road was a well 
known thoroughfare of travel about a century ago, was chartered 
May 5, 1803. Under the act the company was authorized to 
build and maintain a toll road "from the forks of the road in 
Partridgefield west parish, a few rods west of the new meeting 
house there, to the Middlefield meeting house: thence to Chester 
meeting house," and thence to Parley Crook's in Chester, near 
the west branch of Westfield river. 

The Sixteenth INIassaehusetts turnpike corporation was char- 
tered February 14, 1803, with authority to construct and main- 

( 156 ) 



INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 

tain a toll road from the west line of West Springfield (Agawam 
parish), about seventy rods west of Moses Hays' dwelling house 
in Southwick, west to Edmund Barlow's dwelling house in 
Granville ; and thence into Berkshire county. 

The Springfield and Longmeadow turnpike corporation was 
chartered March 7, 1804, and was one of the first roads of its 
character leading out of Springfield. It began at the south end 
of Main street, near the dwelling house of Major Jacob Bliss, and 
run thence "by the nearest and most convenient route through 
the town of Longmeadow," to the Connecticut line. 

The incorporators of the company were numerous and in- 
cluded many of the foremost men of both towns. As shown by 
the creating act, they were Nathaniel Ely, Jonathan Dwight, 
James Dwight, AYilliam Ely, Jacob Bliss, Daniel Lombard, "Will- 
iam Pynchon, Chauncey Brewer, Eleazer Williams, Thomas Wil- 
liston, Thomas Bates, Eichard AA^oolworth, Moses Field, jr., 
Josiah Cooley, Lewis White, Gideon Bush, Elihu Colton, Demas 
Colton, Nathaniel Burt, Seth Steele, John Cooley 2d, Calvin 
Burt, Joshua Frost, John Cooley, Alexander Field, Samuel Col- 
ton, Oliver Blanchard, Ethan Ely, Gideon Colton, jr., David 
Burt, Samuel Keep, Noah Bliss, Samuel Keep, jr., Gains Bliss, 
Hezekiah Hale, Israel Colton, AVilliam Colton, Hanum Cooley 
and Ebenezer Bliss. 

The Petersham and Monson turnpike was another of the 
once famous highways of eastern Hampden county, although 
comparatively little of the road was laid out in our eastern towns. 
The company was incorporated February 29, 1804, and built a 
turnpike road from the Fifth Massachusetts company's road in 
Athol through that town, also through Petersham, Greenwich, 
Dana, Ware, Palmer and jNIonson, to connect with a turnpike in 
Stafford. 

The Blandford and Eussell turnpike company was incor- 
porated March 16, 1805, and included among its stockholders 
probably a majority of the substantial men of those towns. At 
least the long list of names of incorporators would seem to indi- 
cate that nearly the whole region had an interest in the con- 
struction of the road. The latter was to be laid out not less than 

( 157 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

four rods wide, and to extend from the dwelling house of Stephen 
Saeket in Westfield through Russell to the dwelling house of 
Solomon Noble in Blandford. 

The incorporators of the company were Samuel Knox, Jacob 
Almy, Israel Asliley, William Ashley, Stephen Ashley, Eli P. 
Ashmun, James Babeock, Ebenezer Bartlett, jr., Elijah Bates, 
Aaron Beard, Adam, Reuben, Asa and James Blair, Reuben, 
Samuel, Samuel 2d, William, David 2d, and David Boies, Joseph 
W. Brewster, Zadock Brown, Joseph Bull, Moses A. Bunnel, 
Perry Button, Robert Cannon, Martin Cannon, Chandler Carter, 
Levi Chapman, Samuel Chapman, Thomas James Douglas. 
Joseph B. Elmore, William Ferguson, Medad Fowler, Ephraim. 
Samuel C. and Nathan Gibbs, Erastus Grant, John Hamilton, 
Benjamin Hastings, James and Robert Hazard, Benjamin 
Henry, Enoch Holcomb, jr., John Ingersoll, Elijah, John and 
William Knox, Jared W. Knowlton, Jacob Lounds, Isaac and 
James Lloyd, James JNIoore, Jacob Morse, Israel Mosely, Solo- 
mon Noble, Jonathan Osborn, Gad Palmer, Squire Palmer, Ab- 
ner Pease, Ezra and Stephen Saeket, Jonathan Shepard, Solo- 
mon Stewart, jr., William Stewart, Benjamin Taggart, John 
Watson, Paul and Barnabas Whitney, Andrew and John Wil- 
son, Amos Witter and Oliver Weller. 

Among the other turnpike companies worthy of mention in 
this connection, there may be recalled the Granville corporation, 
chartered June 20, 1809 ; the Granville and Tolland corporation, 
chartered June 13, 1814 ; the Wilbraham corporation, chartered 
June 16, 1820, for the purpose of building a toll road from the 
west end of the First Massachusetts company's road through 
Wilbraham and a part of Longmeadow to the Connecticut line, 
the incorporators being Abel Bliss, jr., William Clark, Aaron 
Woodward, John Adams, jr., Ebenezer R. Warner, Moses Burt, 
Pynchon Bliss and John Glover; the Chester turnpike corpora- 
tion, once a notable company, chartered February 14, 1822, to 
build a road from the west end of Walton bridge, "upon the 
present road of the Eighth Massachusetts turnpike corporation, 
to the foot of Becket mountain, about one-half mile west of the 
dwelling hoiTse of Uriah Ferre, in Chester, thence by the new 

( 158 ) 



INTERNAL LMPE0VE3IENTS 

road to Beeket turnpike," the incorporators being Titus Doo- 
little, Daniel Collins, Thomas Fry and Origen A. Perkins; the 
Tolland and Otis turnpike company, chartered June 18, 1825 ; 
and the Hampden and Berkshire company, chartered March 3, 
1826, to build a road from the house of John Mallory, jr., in 
Kussell, on the best course to the village of Blandford and thence 
in the best course to the Beeket turnpike. 

The old toll road system of early days, were it now in opera- 
tion, would be regarded as a nuisance and a detriment to public 
interests ; but three-quarters of a century ago, and less, that sys- 
tem was the direct means of great benefit to the whole country 
in extending settlement into new localities and giving a per- 
manent value to thousands of acres of land previously inaccessi- 
ble to settlers. The toll roads of okl Hampshire and new Hamp- 
den counties were as important in their day as the steam rail- 
roads of the present time, and to the farmers and their interests, 
the former were far more valuable. After this system of main 
arteries of travel was in full operation, the several towns took 
upon themselves the task of laying out lateral or cross roads, and 
thus even the most remote lands were made available. At length, 
however, when the agricultural lands were all occupied, and 
when other and more modern means of travel had been provided, 
the old system became unpopular and soon afterward the gates 
were removed. 

Following close upon the opening of the toll roads across the 
state there came a new era of progress and prosperity in the his- 
tory of Hampden county. As early as about the year 1818 a 
line of stages and transportation wagons for passengers and mer- 
chandise began running on the Boston road 1,'etween the capital 
city of Massachusetts and Albany ; and within the next score of 
years at least half a dozen lines of stages were operating 
throughout the state. This was the most prosperous era in the 
annals of the towns of Massachusetts, and one in which every 
branch or calling in business life was fostered and made better. 
From 1820 until the advent of the railroad every farmer found 
a ready market for all the products of the soil. Good prices pre- 
vailed and money was plenty : and in the general distribution of 

( 159 ) 



INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 

cash the farmer received his full share. This cau hardly be 
said of any period during the last half century. In those days 
the farmer was indeed thriftless who did not pay for his lands 
and "'lay by" at least a small store of wealth for the future com- 
fort of his family. 

Again, during the first quarter of the nineteenth century, 
the towns of Massachusetts were contributing their population 
to southern and western New York and also to Ohio, and 
throughout that period down to about 1845 the warm months of 
every year witnessed a constant stream of travel across the state 
from east to west, and it is doubtful if there was any ten miles 
of the old Boston road that had not its wayside tavern where re- 
freshment and good cheer were offered to the traveller. And 
Avhat is true of the Boston road is also true of nearly all the other 
turnpike roads. During that period Springfield Avas an impor- 
tant center of travel and trade, and the scenes of activity around 
the old Hampden coffee house and the other hostelries of the 
town furnished topics of discussion in every circle of domestic 
life. Business was active, money was plenty and prosperity pre- 
vailed on every hand. Of a truth it may be said that the era 
of the stage coach was one of greater progress in the history of 
the towns of this state than all others of earlier years. During 
that era the resources of the towns were developed to their full- 
est extent and the foundations of thousands of fortunes were 
laid. 

Ferries.—Bnrmg the period of the turnpike road companies 
and the stage lines two prominent factors in connection there- 
with contributed to the Avelfare of Springfield. The fii-st and 
perhaps the most prominent of these was the old Boston road, 
which formed part of a continuous line of travel between Bos- 
ton and Albany, and which was in fact the route most used by 
travellers between those points. The other factor referred to 
was the early and (for the time) ample means afforded for cross- 
ing the Connecticut river. As early as 1674 the town of Spring- 
field authorized Anthony Dorchester to operate a ferry across 
the river below the mouth of the Agawam, as commonly known, 
and in compensation for his service the worthy ferryman was 

11-1 ( 161 ) 




tn 



INTERNAL HI PRO \ EMEN TS 

allowed to charge eight pence for each horse and man. two pence 
for each foot traveller, and three pence for each trooper on train- 
ing days. From that time a ferry was maintained across the 
river, and as settlement increased on the west side, a second ferry 
was established farther up the stream. 

In 1683. at the suggestion of the general court, a second 
ferry was considered liy the selectmen of Springfield, and at a 
town meeting held in February it was voteci that the "selectmen 
should discourse with any person for the keeping of a ferry over 
the Great River, and. having found such a one, to make report 
thereof to the town." At that time the selectmen were Deacon 
Jonathan Burt. Henry Chapin. John Hitchcock. Sanuiel Ball 
and John Holyoke. while Daniel Denton served in the capacity 
of town clerk. In the following year the town voted to establish 
a ferry at John Dorchester's place, to be kept by him, and in 
addition to the tolls charged, he should be exempt from military 
training; and it seems that the shrewd settler, in addition to his 
tolls, asked the right to sell liquors, but whether the request was 
granted the records are silent. 

In 1718 the town voted a tax for the purpose of establishing 
a free ferry across the river, and appointed John Worthington, 
Joseph AVilliston and Joseph Merrick to provide for the same. 
In 1727 the ferry at the "upper wharfe'' Mas let to John Hug- 
gins for a term of five years. In 1728 the ferry at the mouth 
of the Agawam was made permanent. In 1749 a ferry was au- 
thorized at the "middle wharfe,'' and at the same time it was 
voted that Josiah Dwight. Daniel Parsons. George Pynchon and 
Jacob White "may have liberty to set up a vessel at the middle 
wharfe in said town." This undoubtedly was the first attempt 
to navigate a sailing vessel for ferry purposes on the Connecti- 
cut river. 

The ferries to which allusion is made in preceding para- 
graphs probably were located in the vicinity of the North End 
Tjridge, or the "upper wharfe," the foot of Ferry or Cypress 
street, the "middle wharfe," and the South End bridge or 
"lower wharfe.'' respectively. The upper and lower ferries 
were maintained many years, and were a great convenience to 

( 163 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

travelers in those localities ; but the needs of the inhabitants liv- 
ing near the center of business and population in the town re- 
quired more ample facilities for conmninication with the west 
side of the river, hence in the early part of the nineteenth cen- 
tury the middle ferry gave way to a bridge— one of the pioneer 
structures of its kind in the Connecticut valley. As late, how- 
ever, as 1831 Hiram Jones was authorized to keep a ferry at 
Chieopee, a locality which had not the benefits of a bridge across 
the river until within a comparatively recent date. 

Bridges.— When, in 1786, the construction of a bridge across 
the Connecticut river was first proposed the suggestion was re- 
ceived with ridicule, and the feat was declared by the wiseacres 
as impossible to be accomplished. At that time bridges were 
not unknown in the valley, but they were few in number, and 
were confined to the smaller streams. As early as 1782 the gen- 
eral court authorized a lottery enterprise in aid of a bridge over 
the Chieopee, on the line of road between Springfield and Had- 
ley, another across the Agawam part of AVestfield river, in West- 
field, and a third across Westfield river at Weller's mills, in the 
town of AA^estfield. In 1800 the town Avas authorized to build 
a bridge over Westfield "Great river," near Park's mills. In 
1816 both Palmer and Westfield petitioned the court of sessions 
for aid from the public funds in the construction of bridges in 
those towns. 

Even at that comparatively recent date the construction of 
bridges over small streams was regarded as a doubtful under- 
taking, and the erection of a bridge across a river so great as the 
Connecticut was looked upon as an impossible feat. In March, 
1792, an incorporated company was formed for the purpose of 
constructing a bridge over the Connecticut between the towns of 
Greenfield and Montague, in the north part of Hampshire 
county, and three years later another company was chartered 
for the same purpose. 

Although the proposition to bridge the river within the limits 
of Hampden county was first made in 1786, no eflfeetive steps in 
that direction were taken until 1803, when, on February 22, the 
legislature passed "An act for incorporating certain persons for 

( 164 ) 



IXTEBNAL IMPROVEMENTS 

the purpose of building a bridge over Counecticut river, and for 
supporting the same:" the effective portion of which act was as 
follows : 

"AVhereas a bridge over Connecticut river, between the 
toAvns of Springfield and West Springfield, in the county of 
Hampshire, would be of public convenience ; and whereas John 
Hooker and others have presented a petition to this court pray- 
ing for liberty to build the same, and to be incorporated for that 
purpose : ' ' 

"Be it enacted," etc., "That John Hooker, George Bliss, 
Joseph AVilliams. Samuel Fowler, AVilliam Sheldon, Jonathan 
Dwight, Thomas Dwight, James Scutt Dwight, AVilliam Smith, 
William Pynchon, Jonathan Smith, jr., Jere Stebbins, Seth 
Lathrop, Samuel Lathrop, Justin Ely, jr., Solomon Stebbins, 
Peletiah Bliss, Reuben Sikes, Thaddeus Leavitt, Jacob Bliss, 
Alexander Bliss, Zebina Stebbins. George Blake, Justin Lom- 
bard and Eleazer Williams, with such other persons as already 
have associated, or may hereafter associate with them, be. and 
they are hereby made and constituted a corporation and body 
politic, by the name of The Proprietors of the Springfield 
Bridge." 

The company was authorized to build a bridge across the 
Connecticut at any point between the "the mouth of the Aga- 
wam river and the mouth of Plain brook, so called." 

In accordance with the authority of the act the company at 
once began the work of construction, and on October 30, 1805, 
the Springfield bridge was completed and opened for traffic. It 
was one of the most notable structures of its kind in the country. 
and its completion was one of the first successful attempts to 
bridge the river at any point throughout its entire length from 
Northern Vermont and New Hampshire to Long Island sound. 
This pioneer bridge was 1,234 feet long, forty feet above low 
water, and cost $36,270. It comprised six spans, or arches, sup- 
ported by two abutments and five piers. Thirty rods above the 
bridge the company caused two "ice-breaks" to be built in the 
river to protect the main structure. 

The formal opening was an occasion of joyous celebration 
in Springfield and its sister town across the river; and a salute 

( 165 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

of seventeen gims three times repeated from each end of the 
bridge was one of the events of the day (Rev. Joseph A. Lath- 
rop's sermon from Isaiah 45:18, specially prepared for the occa- 
sion, Avas another), and the citizens marched throngh the streets 
in honor of the company's achievement. 

The following description of the Springfield bridge is taken 
from Henry Bi-ewer's Fedci'al Spy, the article being printed 
in 1805, viz. : 

"This bridge is so constructed with frames npon each pier 
connected by long timbers with the arches, that the traveller 
])asses over nearly the whole extent of it on an elevated plane, 
affording a view of extensive landscapes in which are blended 
well-cnltivated fields, pleasant villages, rivers, meadows, lofty 
monntains, and indeed a wildness and variety in the beauties of 
nature which is highly gratifying to the eye." 

Notwithstanding the favorable circumstances which at- 
tended the construction of the Springfield bridge, the structure 
itself was short lived, and in its destruction the "knowing ones" 
found verification of their predictions, therefore breathed more 
freely and in a measure felt compensated for the great loss the 
public had sustained. On July 19, 1814, the bridge fell into 
the river and was demolished. It was an unfortunate event and 
was regarded as a public calamity, for the bridge had come to 
be regarded as an indispensable convenience to travel between 
Boston and Albany. The cause of its destruction is said to have 
been the heavily loaded army wagons used during the war of 
1812, but the main fault lay in the unnecessarily heavy weight 
of the bridge itself. In a measure its construction was an ex- 
periment, the builders having no precedent to guide them and 
only their own impei'fect knowledge of bridge engineering for 
the regulation of their work. Had the bridge been only half 
as heavy, it probably would not have fallen. 

The loss of the first bridge, however, did not discourage the 
company, although the purses of the stockholders had been 
drained in its construction. They at once set about rebuilding, 
and in January, 1815, the legislature pa.ssed an act authorizing 
the company to raise a fund of $20,000 by lottery. This was 

( 166 ) 



y y y?' 



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J^Hs:*^ 







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bJD 

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'r_X~^- 2 



'Sr^ \ y^ H 




•vH 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

done, and on October 1, 1816. a new bridge was opened for 
travel. It cost about $22,000. 

In ]\Iareh. 1818, the second bridge was swept away by high 
water, only the abutments and two piers on the west side surviv- 
ing the flood. This second loss, following so close upon the 
first, was a heavy blow to the company, but evidently the man- 
agement was not disheartened. Again, however, they had re- 
course to the legislature, and by an act passed February 18, 1819, 
the "managers of the Springfield bridge lottery" were directed 
to continue their drawings until they had raised the sum author- 
ized by the act of 1813 ; and the act further authorized the man- 
agers to "draw one class by which they may raise $10,000 for 
the benefit of the company, ' ' on condition that the company give 
a bond to rebuild the bridge within one year from June 1, 1819. 

Agreeable to the provisions of the act, and availing itself of 
the lottery enterprise, the company built a third bridge— the old 
covered bridge that still spans the river at the foot of Bridge 
street. It was completed in the early part of 1820, and its sub- 
sequent long life was a real disappointment to those who fore- 
told the fate of the first bridge ; for it outlived them all, and sur- 
vived the ravages of time and flood and fire, even to the present 
day. More than four score years the structure has accommo- 
dated travel between Springfield and the thickly settled towns 
across the river, and for many years it was the only bridge over 
the Connecticut within the limits of Hampden county. Within 
the last twenty-five years the structure frequently has been 
strengthened in the hope that its use might be continued, but vir- 
tually it is condennied and for some twenty yeare the people 
have been clamorous for a new bridge on its site. 

The covered bridge was built at a cost of $25,000. It is 
1,287 feet long, twenty-eight feet above low water, and eighteen 
feet wide. The side walk was added in 1878. It was main- 
tained as a toll bridge until 1878, when it was taken by commis- 
sioners appointed under the act to abolish the tolP system. It 

■^The act of incorporation authorized rates of toll as follows : Foot pas- 
sengers, 3 cts. : horse and rider, 7 cts. ; horse and chaise, chair or sulky, 16 cts. ; 
coach, chariot, phaeton or other four-wheeled carriage for passengers. 33 cts. ; 

( 168 ) 



OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE 

was purchased for $80,000, of which the county paid $15,000, 
AYest Springfield, $4,000. Springtiehl, $10,000, and AgaAvam, 
$1,000. Since that time it has been maintained as a free bridge, 
the county paying one-half, Springfield one-third and AVest 
Springfield one-sixth of the expense. 

The Chicopee bridge, so called, but formerly known as the 
Cabot and West Springfield bridge, dates its history from the 
year 1846, Avhen, on INIarch 27, the Cabot and West Springfield 
bridge company was incorporated. The bridge itself was built 
in 1848-49, and was maintained as a toll bridge until purchased 
and made free in 1872. The original founders of the enterprise 
were Kobert E. Bemis, Veranus Chapin, Aaron Ashley, Horace 
Smith and their associates, who were authorized to build and 
maintain a toll bridge across the Connecticut at Ashley's ferry, 
so called, or between that point and Jones' ferry, as the county 
commissioners should determine. 

When taken and made a free bridge in 1872 the company 
received $36,000, one-half of which was paid by the county at 
large, one-third by Chicopee, and one-sixth by West Springfield. 
The subsequent cost of maintenance has been paid by Chicopee, 
two-thirds, and West Springfield one-third. 

The Agawam bridge company was incorporated June 4, 
1856, by Lyman Whitman, Thomas Kirkland, Henry Fuller, 
Henry Sikes, Luther Loomis, Henry Wolcott, Charles G. Rice, 
Elijah Bliss, J. R. Cooley, Horace Cutler and their associates, 
for the purpose of building and maintaining a toll bridge across 
the Connecticut between the city of Springfield and the town of 
Agawam, "at or near the present ferry," as stated in the act; 
but notwithstanding the efforts put forth by the company, the 
bridge was not built by the original proprietors. The legislature 
frequently extended the time for completion, and finally, in 
1873, an act of the general court authorized the construction of 
a free bridge at that point. Even then six more years passed 
before the work was accomplished and the people of Agawam 
were given direct communication with the county seat. 

curricle, 25 cts. ; horse and sleigh drawn by one horse, 10 cts.. and if drawn by 
more than one horse, 12% cts.; neat cattle, 3 cts.; sheep or swine, 1 cent. 

( I'O ) 



IXTERXAL niPFOVE^JENTS 

The South End bridge, successor to the proposed Agawam 
bridge, was built in 1879, at a cost of $116,188 ; of which sum the 
county paid $11,000, Springfield, $75,522, and Agawam, $29,666. 
The expense of maintenance is borne by Springfield and Aga- 
wam, the former paying eighty-five per cent, and the latter fif- 
teen per cent, of the cost. 

The Holyoke and South Hadley Falls bridge company^ was 
incoii3orated April 27, 1865, by Alonzo Bardwell, S. S. Chase, 
Stephen Holman and others, to build and maintain a toll bridge 
between Holyoke and South Hadley Falls in Hampshire county. 
In 1870 an act of the legislature authorized the county commis- 
sioners of Hampshire and Hampden counties to lay out a high- 
Avay and construct a free bridge between these places, and in 
May following authority was granted to contract with the Con- 
necticut river railroad company for the use of its bridge for 
traffic. In 1872 the bridge was made free. In 1873 a new Hol- 
yoke and South Hadley bridge was built at a total cost of $162,- 
780. Of this sum Hampden county paid $35,500, Holyoke, 
$85,780, Hampshire county, $17,500, South Hadley, $15,000, 
Belchertown, $3,500, and Granby, $5,500. For subsequent 
maintenance Holyoke has paid eighty per cent, and South Had- 
ley twenty per cent. 

The present Holyoke and South Hadley bridge was built in 
1890, and cost $169,300. This expense was apportioned as fol- 
lows : Hampden county, $50,060 ; Chicopee, $2,500 ; Holyoke, 
$85,615; Hampshire county, $17,770; South Hadley, $9,355; 
Belchertown, $1,500; C4ranby, $2,500. 

The North End bridge in Springfield, one of the most sub- 
stantial structures of its kind in the Connecticut valley, and an 
honor to any municipality, was built in 1878, and cost $170,904. 
Of this amount West Springfield paid $25,780, and Springfield, 
$145,124. In maintenance Springfield contributes eighty-five 
per cent, and AYest Springfield fifteen per cent. 

'The original Holyolje and South Hadley Falls bridge company was incor- 
porated April 24, 1850, by Alonzo Bardwell, Charles Peck, James H. Clapp and 
others, and was authorized to build and maintain a toll bridge across the Con- 
necticut for a period of sixty years after the bridge was opened for traffic. 

( 171 ) 



INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 

The Willimansett bridge, an original structure, was built 
in 1893, and cost $178,326.69. Of this amount the county at 
large paid $20,000, Chicopee, $52,775.56, and Holyoke, $105,- 
551.13. 

From what is stated in preceding paragraphs it Avill be seen 
that the county, and the towns charged Avith the cost, have paid 
(or are to pay) for bridges now in use across the Connecticut 
river, the principal sum of $790,873.69, divided as follows: 
Hampden county, $149,560 ; Chicopee, $60,275.56 ; West Spring- 
field, $35,780; Springfield, $230,646; Agawam, $30,666; Hol- 
yoke, $276,946.13. 

Canals. — Soon after 1790 the subject of artificial waterways 
on the Connecticut river for transportation purposes was first 
discussed in business and legislative circles in iMassachusetts, 
and in 1792 an act of the general court incorporated "The Pro- 
prietors of the Locks and Canals on the Connecticut River." 
The incorporators and prime movers of the then gigantic under- 
taking were chiefly resident in Hampshire county, but the com- 
pany included a number of prominent men in what afterward 
was Hampden county, among them being John Worthington, 
Samuel Lyman, Jonathan Dwight, John Hooker and William 
Smith, of Springfield, Samuel Fowler of AVestfield, and Justin 
Ely, of West Springfield. The object of the company was to 
construct canals around the falls at South Hadley, thus opening 
the Connecticut as a navigable waterway for rafts and boats of 
light burthen. 

Although the managers of the enterprise worked diligently 
to accomplish the task of building a canal around both the low-er 
and the upper falls, they found the undertaking far more diffi- 
cult and expensive than w'as at first expected, therefore the ori- 
ginal company contented itself with building only the lower 
canal, while a new corporation, created by the legislature in 1794, 
undertook the work of constructing a canal around the upper 
falls, or rapids. 

However, the entire undertaking was greater than was con- 
templated by either company, and the work was retarded by 
many embarrassing obstacles; but at last, after several years, 

( 173 ) 



OLR COiMY AND ITS PEOPLE 

the canals were substantially completed and put in operation, 
although they never met with the success they really deserved. 
It was not only a new undertaking, but a pioneer enterprise in 
the country, and one in which the projectors had no precedent 
to follow. 

The Hampshire and Hampden canal was more particularly 
a local enterprise, and one in which the substantial men of West- 
field were deeply interested. The Hampshire and Hampden 
canal company was incorporated February 4, 1823, and was 
authorized to build and maintain a canal from Northampton to 
the Connecticut state line, passing through the towns of North- 
ampton, Easthampton and Southampton in Hampshire county 
and Westfield and Southwick in Hampden county. The incor- 
porators were Samuel Hinckley, Ebenezer Hunt, Ferdinand H. 
Wright, Isaac Damon, Eliphalet Williams, Samuel Fowler. Eli- 
jah Bates, William Atwater, Enos Foote, John Mills, Heman 
Laflin and their associates. 

Under its charter the company was authorized "to locate, 
construct and fully complete a navigable canal, with locks, tow- 
paths, basins, wharves, dams, embankments, toll houses, and 
other necessary appendages, ' ' between the points previously men- 
tioned, "with power to employ and use as reservoirs or feeders, 
the different ponds, rivers and stream of water, near or over 
which said canal may pass, and also to save the floods and other 
waters of the ponds, rivers and streams, so used as aforesaid, and 
said corporation shall have power to connect wdth said canal, by 
feeders or by navigable canals, any and all said ponds, rivers, 
streams and reservoirs." 

The company was allowed ten years in which to complete 
the canal, and on February 20, 1832, the time was extended to 
January 1, 1835. The work was finished as far as Westfield 
soon after 1830, and to Northampton in 1834. About this time, 
however, the company was in financial straits, and in April, 
1836, an act of the legislature incorporated the New Haven and 
Northampton canal company, which succeeded by purchase and 
absorption to the rights, privileges and franchises of the older 
company. By this consolidation a continuous line of canal 

( 174 ) 



RAILROADS 

under a single management was in operation between New 
Haven and Northampton. In its time it was regarded as a re- 
markable waterway, from which great good accrued to the towns 
of Westfield and Southwick. 

This once famous avenue of travel and transportation was 
kept in operation until about 1847, when overpowering railroad 
competition compelled a suspension of business. It is still fondly 
remembered by many citizens of Westfield and Southwick, and 
traces of it are y^t discernible in several localities. It crossed 
AVesttield river on a wooden aqueduct on stone piers, and about 
a quarter of a mile above Salmon Falls a dam was built across 
the same stream to insure a feed supply of water. The first 
dam proved unsatisfactory and a new one was constructed just 
above the falls. Traces of the feeder canal can now be seen be- 
tween the railroad and the river, and in places the mason work 
where the gates were built is vet visible. 



CHAPTER XIII 
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS— RAILROADS 

The first effective act to incorporate a raili'oad company, 
whose line of road should pass through Hampden county, was 
adopted by the legislature March 15, 1833, when Nathan Hale, 
David Henshaw, George Bond, Henry Williams, Daniel Dewey, 
Joshua Clapp and Eliphalet Williams were granted a charter 
under the name of the Western railroad corporation, for the pur- 
pose of constructing and operating a railroad from the western 
terminus of the Boston and Worcester road, at Worcester, to the 
New York state line on the western border of Massachusetts, 
The capital stock of the company at first was limited to $2,000,- 
000, and Avas taken by more than 2,200 subscribers. The com- 
pany, however, was not fully organized until January, 1836, 
when the following board of directors was chosen: John B. 

( 175 ) 



^-mmm 




'43 

bo 

a 



3 



BAILROADS 

AYales, Ednniiid Dwiglit, George Bliss, William Lawrence, 
Henry Rice, John Heushaw, Francis Jackson, Josiali Quincy, 
jr., and Justice Willard. 

For more than forty years previous to this act of incorpora- 
tion the capitalists of eastern Massachusetts had been looking 
anxiously for more direct and rapid means of communication 
with the western portion of the state than was afforded by the 
transportation wagons and stages doing business on the estab- 
lished turnpike roads, and as early as 1792 the ''Proprietors of 
the ]\lassachusetts Canal" were incorporated for the purpose of 
constructing a canal across the state from east to west; and to 
this end surveys, maps and estimates were made, but beyond 
these preliminary proceedings nothing was accomplished. After 
this much had been done, the subject of a canal was one of dis- 
cussion only until 1825, when Governor Eustis recommended the 
appointment of three commissioners to ascertain the practicabil- 
ity of constructing a canal from Boston harbor to the Connecti- 
cut river, and thence to ultimately extend the same to the Hud- 
son river. In answer to this suggestion a commission was es- 
tablished and several routes were examined and discussed, but 
in 1826 the legislature tabled the report of the commissioners 
and repealed the enabling act, which for a time put an end to the 
matter, for still more rapid means of transportation had in the 
meantime been put into operation in other states and was the 
subject of earnest discussion among capitalists in Boston. 

In 1826 petitions were presented to the legislature asking 
that the committee on roads and canals cause preliminary sur- 
veys to be made for a "railway" from Boston to the Hudson 
river, the same to be operated by horse power, for steam roads 
then were not in existence, although such an innovation had been 
suggested as possible. The next two years were spent in exam- 
ining proposed routes, making surveys and discussing the ad- 
visability of the undertaking, with result in a report favorable 
to the enterprise. In 1828 an act of the legislature established 
a "board of directors of internal improvements," comprising 
nine members, and in the same year the New York legislature 
gave further encouragement to the work by passing "an act to 

12-1 ( 177 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

facilitate the construction of a railroad from the city of Boston 
to the Hudson river," and pledged that state to continue to the 
Hudson river the road proposed to be built by jVIassachusetts 
from Boston to the New York line. 

On June 2, 1831, the Boston and Worcester railroad cor- 
poration was created by act of the legislature, with a capital of 
$1,000,000, and with authority to build and maintain a railroad 
from Boston to Worcester. The company was organized May 
1, 1832. On March 15, 1833, the directors of the aforesaid com- 
pany were further incorporated as "The Western railroad cor- 
poration," with an authorized capital of not more than 20,000 
shares of $100 each, for the purpose of consti'ucting a railroad 
from Worcester to the Connecticut river, at Springfield, and 
thence to the westerly boundary of the state. The Boston and 
Worcester company had exclusive control of the charter of the 
Western company. On May 5, 1834, the New York legislature 
granted a charter to the Castleton and West Stockbridge rail- 
road company (the name was changed in 1836 to the Albany 
and West Stockbridge railroad company) to build a railroad 
from Greenbush to the Massachusetts line ; and with this action 
the entire line of road was provided for, but not built. The 
road from Boston to Worcester was completed and opened for 
traffic July 4, 1835. 

The construction of the Western railroad west of Worces- 
ter was accomplished only after many vicissitudes. The lead- 
ing spirits of the enterprise in Springfield were George Bliss. 
Caleb Rice, W. H. Bowdoin and Justice Willard, but notwith- 
standing their strenuous efforts the people were slow to invest 
their money in the undertaking, regarding its ultimate success 
as doubtful. The need of a road from Worcester to Spring- 
field was conceded, and Springfield finally awakened to that fact. 
A public meeting was held in the town hall early in January, 
1835, and resulted in a call for a general convention to be held 
in Worcester in May following. Then the road became an as- 
sured fact and the people set themselves diligently to work to 
accomplish that end. Surveys were at once begun and lines 
were even run in the direction of Hartford. 

( 178 ) 



01 R COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

It has been said that this very fact stirred the Springfield 
people to action, for the projectoi's of the road, on learning of 
the apathy Avhich existed in Springfield, suggested a road from 
Worcester to Albany by way of Hartford. Indeed, the Hart- 
ford capitalists entered earnestly into the plan in good faith and 
caused surveys to be made from that city to Worcester, and also 
examined routes leading to the westward. 

Early in June, 1886, the capital stock of the Western road 
had been subscribed, upon which the company was organized, 
with George Bliss and Justice AVillard, of Springfield, members 
of the board of directors. On March 16 Mr. Bliss was appointed 
agent of the company. He had been one of the chief advocates 
of the road from the beginning, and to his influence more than 
any other man is due its construction through Springfield. Sur- 
veys on the route between Worcester and Springfield were be- 
gun in the spring of 1836, and early in the summer three parties 
of surveyors were operating west of the Connecticut. Several 
routes Avere suggested and examined, and for some time it was 
quite uncertain which was the most desirable. East of the river 
the work of construction was begun in 1836, and was so far com- 
pleted that passenger trains were run from Boston to Spring- 
field, October 1, 1839. 

In the meantime work west of Springfield was progressing 
slowly, and the funds of the company were exhausted before the 
line was half built. In 1836 the legislature had been petitioned 
for state aid in the establishment of the Western railroad bank, 
to be operated in Boston in connection with the railroad, and 
while this request was not granted, the legislature authorized 
the treasurer to subscribe $1,000,000 stock in behalf of the state, 
and in 1838 the state pledged its credit to the extent of $2,100,- 
000 more in behalf of the enterprise. Again in 1839 the state 
in the same manner contributed $1,200,000, and finally, in 1841, 
gave $700,000 more with which the road was completed. 

During the years 1838-40 the work of construction was 
pushed vigorously, and with the contribution of money by the 
state in 1841 the road was finished to the New York state line. 
On May 24 the road was opened to Chester, and on October 4, 

( 180 ) 



KAILROADS 

following, the entire road from the Connecticut to the state line 
was ready for business. The long bridge across the river at 
Springfield was finished July 4, 1841, and cost $131,612.12. (The 
present bridge was erected in 1872, at a cost of $262,000.) That 
part of the road betAveen Albany and the junction of the Hud- 
son and Berkshire roads, at Chatham Four Corners, was com- 
pleted and opened December 21, 1841, on which day trains be- 
gan running between Boston and Albany, on the longest continu- 
ous line of railway then in operation in the United States. 

The completion of the railroad was an event of great impor- 
tance in the history of Springfield, the central point between the 
termini of the line. At that time the town had less than 11,000 
inhabitants, and while the population during the next ten years 
increased hardly more than 1,000, eveiy business enterprise was 
enhanced in value. When it was finally decided to build the 
road through the town, and all doubts on the subject were re- 
moved, there was an exciting time in real estate circles in the 
locality and charges of manipulation and unfairness were made 
in certain quarters ; but whatever ill feelings may have been en- 
gendered, thej^ soon gave way in the general prosperity, and 
contentment prevailed in every circle of domestic life. 

When completed and in operation the line of railroad be- 
tween Boston and Albany was owned by three corporations, and 
the division of revenue soon gave rise to difficulties, to the injury 
of all concerned through loss of business. The only satisfac- 
tory settlement of this condition of aft'airs lay in consolidation 
of interests, and on December 1, 1867, the Boston and Albany 
railroad company was the result. This company operated the 
road until January, 1901, when, with its branches, it passed by 
lease into the hands of the Central Hudson, or Vanderbilt, sys- 
tem. 

The Hartford and Springfield railroad corporation, now a 
part of the great New York, New Haven and Hartford system, 
was chartered April 5, 1839, with $300,000 capital, and author- 
ity to build and maintain a railroad from Chicopee river, in the 
town of Springfield, to the south line of Massachusetts, there to 
meet a line of road owned by a Connecticut corporation. The 

( 181 ) 







pa 



RAILROADS 

incorporators were Charles Stearns, George D wight, Stephen 
0. Russel and George Bliss, and their associates. The road was 
opened in 1844, but the part north of the Western railroad was 
not built. In the same year the stockholders of the Hartford 
and New Haven company, a Connecticut corporation, were au- 
thorized to acquire stock in the Hartford and Springfield com- 
pany, which being done the name of the latter changed to New 
Haven and Springfield company. In 1845 the name changed 
to New Haven, Hartford and Springfield, and in 1847 to Hart- 
ford and New Haven company. On April 5, 1872, the road 
consolidated with other lines, upon which the corporation be- 
came known as the New York, New Haven and Hartford rail- 
road company. 

The completion of this road opened communication with the 
large cities of Connecticut— Hartford and New Haven— and 
also gave Springfield direct trade with New York city as well as 
indirect advantages of ocean commerce. Next to the Western 
railroad it ranked in importance in promoting local interests, 
and in later years it has been a question whether the road down 
the valley has not been a more benefit to business interests in 
Springfield than the old line. 

The Northampton and Springfield railroad company— a 
part of the now known Boston and Maine system— was incor- 
porated ]March 1, 1842, with $400,000 capital, and wdth authority 
to build and operate a railroad from a point within one mile of 
the court house in Northampton, crossing the Connecticut river 
near Mt. Holyoke and passing down the east side thereof through 
Hadley, South Hadley and Springfield to meet the track of the 
Hartford and Springfield road near Cabotville ; or to diverge 
from this line in South Hadley and pass over the "Plain" and 
Chicopee river, near the falls, and unite with the Western rail- 
road east of the depot in Springfield. The incorporators named 
in the act were John Clark, Samuel L. Hinckley, Stephen Brewer, 
Jonathan H. Butler, Winthrop Hillyer and their associates. In 
1845 the company Avas authorized to change the route of the road, 
cross the Connecticut at Willimansett and to extend a branch to 
Chicopee Falls. 

{ 183 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

The road was built and put in operation about 1847. It 
was and is an important link in the chain of railroads through 
the Connecticut valley, and has brought much trade to Spring- 
field from Northampton and other localities in Hampshire and 
Franklin counties. In later years the road passed through 
various changes and ultimately became a part of the Boston and 
Maine system. 

Next in the order of incorporation was the Mt. Holyoke 
railroad company, chartered by the legislature May 27. 1846, 
with $200,000 capital. This road, according to the description 
of its proposed route in the creating act, was to start in Hock- 
anum, and thence pass through Hadley, South Hadley and a 
part of the town of Springfield to a point near Willimansett, in 
what now is the town of Chicopee. Only a small part of this 
road was located in Hampden county, and as a factor in local 
history it had little importance, hence not more than a passing 
allusion to it is necessary in this chapter. 

The New London, Willimantic and Palmer railroad com- 
pany was incorporated April 10, 1848, as a part of a line of roads 
intended to extend from New London, Conn., into the upper 
Connecticut valley, between Vermont and New Hampshire. The 
act creating the company named Andrew W. Porter, Franklin 
Newell, Elisha Converse, Sylvester Parks and William N. Flynt 
as incorporators, they being the chief promoters of the enter-, 
prise. The capital of the company was $200,000, with which 
it was proposed to build the road from Palmer through Monson 
to the state line, and there unite with a road to be built to that 
point by a Connecticut company. In 1847 the New London, 
Willimantic and Springfield railroad company was incorporated 
for the purpose of building a road from Ncav London to Spring- 
field, but in the next year a new act and new company changed 
the route to Palmer. The road was opened in 1849-50. being 
completed to Palmer September 20. of the latter year. Subse- 
quently it became a part of the N. L. &. N. R. R. company's line, 
and still later was operated as part of the Central Vermont sys- 
tem. The New London and Northern company was chartered 
in Massachusetts in 1860, 

( 184 ) 



EAILROADS 

The Indian Orchard railroad company, whose line subse- 
quently became one of the branches of the Boston and Albany, 
was incorporated May 1, 1849. with $50,000 capital, by Warren 
Delano, jr., Timothy AV, Carter, Addison Ware and Frederick 
A. Barton, "and their associates," with authority to build a rail- 
road "from some convenient point on the land of the Indian Or- 
chard canal company^ upon or near the southerly side of Chico- 
pee river, in the town of Springfield, passing in the most con- 
venient and feasible direction to the Western railroad within 
said town of Springfield, uniting with said Western railroad at 
a point within two miles of the 93d milestone upon said AVestern 
railroad." 

The Springfield and Longmeadow railroad company, now 
known as the Springfield branch of the N. Y., N. H. & H. system, 
was incorporated May 2, 1849, by John Mills, Marvin Chapin, 
Caleb Rice, George Bliss and Willis Phelps, the latter being the 
leading spirit of the enterprise. The capital stock was $150,- 
000, and while the organizers unquestionably acted in perfect 
good faith and by their efforts built a line of road through a fer- 
tile agricultural countiy, later events proved that the same 
should not have been opened. Under the charter the company 
was authorized to build and operate a line of railroad from 
"some convenient point on the Western railroad (the company 
chose Springfield) southeasterly to the line of the state at the 
south line of the east parish of Longmeadow." At this point 
the road united with that of a Connecticut company, and was 
continued southerly to Hartford. By an act passed May 26. 
1869, the name was changed to Springfield and New London 
railroad company. 

The Amherst and Belchertown railroad company was incor- 
porated INIay 24. 1851. by Edward Hitchcock. Ithamar Conkey, 
Edward Dickinson. Myron Lawrence, Luke Sweetser and others, 
for the purpose of constructing a railroad from the depot in 
Palmer north to the road of the Vermont and IMassachusetts 
company. In 1852 the stockholders of the New London, Willi- 

^The Indian Orchard canal company was incorporated March 10. 1837, to 
create a water power for manufacturing purposes in the town of Springfield. 

( 185 ) 



OUR COIMY AND ITS PEOPLE 

mantie and Palmer company were authorized to purchase stock 
in the new company, M'hich was the beginning of a process of ab- 
sorption. In 1853 the road was opened from Palmer to Amherst, 
and in 1860 the name of the operating company became known 
as the New London and Northern. With other parts of the con- 
tinuous line the Amherst and Belchertow-n road was subse- 
quently leased to the Central Vermont compan5^ 

The Ware Kiver railroad company was originally incorpor- 
ated May 24, 1851, by Charles Stevens, Jason Gorham, William 
Mixter and others, and was authorized to build and operate a 
railroad from the depot on the N, L., W. & P. company in 
Palmer, through and up the valley of Ware river ; thence across 
to the valley of Burntshirt stream, and thence in a northeast 
course to meet the Monadnock railroad on the New Hampshire 
line. The capital of the company was $800,000. In 1853 the 
road was leased to the connecting companies, but later on com- 
plications followed and the charter practically was forfeited. 
After a series of difficulties matters M^ere adjusted and the legis- 
lature revived the old charter by an act passed March 16, 1867. 
Afterward the road Avas leased to the Boston and Albany com- 
pany, by w^hich it is now^ operated under the name of Ware river 
branch. 

The Hampden railroad company was incorporated May 20, 
1852, with $175,000 capital, by Abner Post, James Fowler, Ira 
Yeomans, jr., Matthew Ives and N. T. Leonard, and was author- 
ized to build a railroad from "some convenient point near the 
depot of the Western railroad in Westfield, thence on or near 
the line of the canal [the old Hampshire and Hampden canal] 
to the line of Connecticut at some convenient point in Granby." 

The old canal is mentioned elsewhere. As a carrier sys- 
tem it passed out of existence about 1847, being compelled to sus- 
pend operations by the overpowering competition of the railroad 
running through the Connecticut valley. In order to replace 
the canal Avith modern means of transportation a railroad was 
laid out on substantially the same course. South of Granby 
the road was built by a Connecticut corporation. The Hamp- 
den railroad was built between 1853 and 1856, but before comple- 
tion it merged in the Hampshire and Hampden company. 

( 186 ) 



RAILEOADS 

The Northampton and "VVestfield railroad company was in- 
corporated May 22, 1852, with $200,000 capital, by Samuel Wil- 
liston, John Clarke, Noah L. Strong, Ira Yeomans, jr., Alfred 
L. Strong and others, and with authority to build and operate 
a railroad from some point in Northampton, through that town, 
also through Easthampton, Southampton and Westfield to a 
point on the Western railroad in the town last mentioned. 

This road was a continuation of the Hampden road by a 
separate corporation. In the meantime another railroad north 
of Northampton had been put in operation, and by an act of the 
legislature passed May 25, 1853, the three companies, the Hamp- 
shire & Hampden, the Northampton & Westfield and the North- 
ampton & Shelburne Falls, w^ere consolidated under the name 
of the Hampshire and Hampden railroad company. In 1857 
this company was united with the Connecticut river road, and 
still later was constituted a part of the N. Y., N. H. & H. 

The Springfield and Farmington valley railroad company 
was incorporated May 16, 1856, with $300,000 capital, by James 
M. Blanchard, Edward Southworth, Willis Phelps, Samuel Day, 
Caleb Rice and others, for the purpose of building a railroad 
from the terminus of the Farmington valley road in Connecti- 
cut, through Southwick, Feeding Hills, Mitteneague and West 
Springfield to a point in Springfield near the Western depot. 

The Holyoke and Westfield railroad company was incor- 
porated June 12, 1869, by J. C. Parsons and Edwin Chase of 
Holyoke, and Curtis Laflin, of Westfield, for the purpose of 
building a railroad from Holyoke to Westfield for the benefit of 
manufacturing interests of the former city, whose owners pre- 
ferred not to be limited to a single line of railway in shipping 
their products to market. The road was built in 1871 and for 
years was operated by the New^ Haven & Northampton company. 
It now forms a part of the N. Y., N. H. & H. 

The Springfield and Athol railroad company was incorpor- 
ated May 12, 1871, by Abner B. Abbe, Henry W. Phelps, Eze- 
kiel Blake and others, who, with $300,000 capital, proposed to 
extend the Athol and Enfield road to Springfield. On March 20, 
1872, the Athol & Enfield company was authorized to extend its 

( 187 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

road to the city, which action was the result of a union of inter- 
ests: and in 1873 the legislature changed the name of the con- 
solidated companies to Springfield, Athol and Northeastern. The 
road from Barrett's Junction to Springfield was built in 1873. 
The entire road is now operated as the Athol branch of the Bos- 
ton & Albam'. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
CONNECTICUT RIVER NAVIGATION 

If it were possible at this day to narrate every interesting 
event in connection with the numerous attempts to establish a 
profitable system of navigation on the Connecticut, this chapter 
would begin with the voyage of Governor Winthrop's sailing 
vessel up the river in 1636, when Mr. Pynchou's planters shipped 
their effects from Koxbury to their future home on the site of 
Springfield. How the master of the vessel ever succeeded in 
safely passing the rapids and rocks and shoals in the river at 
AVindsor and Enfield, no chronicler of past history has been kind 
enough to inform us, yet they did accomplish the task and safely 
landed the cargo at its destination without unseemly delay. 

Within two years after this event another of almost equal 
importance took place, and likewise was successfully accom- 
plished. It will be remembered that after the Pequot war the 
planters living in the lower Connecticut valley were reduced to 
great want, and that Captain Mason visited the plantation then 
called Agawam, where dwelt Mr. Pynchon's colony, and re- 
quested that he be supplied with much needed articles of food. 
But unfortunately the planters had not enough food supply for 
their own wants, upon which Captain Mason proceeded up the 
river to the Indian village of Pocomtuck (Deerfield), where he 
bargained with the natives for an abundant supply of corn. 
Having completed the purchase the grain was laden in fifty 
canoes and the entire fleet passed down the river to the settle- 
ments of the whites in the Connecticut colonies. 

( 188 ) 



CONNECTICUT ElVER NAVIGATION 

This notable event early in Massachusetts history cannot be 
regarded as an attempt at river navigation on the Connecticut, 
but it was a primitive beginning in that direction. The Indians 
from time immemorial had used the river as an avenue of travel 
between the upper and lower portions of the valley, and for a 
number of years after they were forcibly driven from the region 
they frequently returned to their favorite haunts and sought to 
repossess the country. They loved the river and were at per- 
fect ease in paddling their frail canoes over its waters, yet the 
white-faced pioneer who came to till the soil naturally shrank 
from the use of the river for purposes other than those actually 
required of him. To him it was a stream too large for con- 
venient and safe use, and it was not until the valley was well 
settled that river navigation for commercial purposes was 
thought of, and when the first attempts were made in this direc- 
tion serious obstacles were to be removed and overcome. 

That the Connecticut river never has been made generally 
navigable for steam craft for commercial purposes has occasioned 
considerable comment among persons not acquainted with the 
history of the valley country. In early times the lumbermen of 
the upper valley regions rafted logs and lumber down its waters 
to market, but they did so frequently at the hazard of their lives 
and property, as rafts sometimes were broken in making the falls 
and rapids of Hadley and Enfield. Mr. Dewey, in his article 
on "Early Navigation," informs us that as early as 1790 the 
Hollanders built a canal at South Hadley Falls, and passed 
boats "up and down on an inclined plane." It was a slow 
process, not free from risk, and while sufficient for the time it 
had not the capacity to carry large boats. According to Mr. 
DeAvey's description, the upward passage of the canal was 
effected by placing a large triangular box under the boat and 
drawing it forward through the canal by means of a cable or 
rope, using a horse windlass or "sweep" for power. 

In this primitive fashion a boat of light draught might pass 
the falls at South Hadley, and a like canal at the upper falls 
allowed passage at that point. But the results as a whole were 
unsatisfactory. Lower down the river, in the vicinity of En- 

( 189 ) 



01' R COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

field, and also at Windsor, obstructions similar to those at Had- 
ley prevented the free passage of boats, and the people of Con- 
necticut were slow to improve the channel for the purpose of 
navigation. And here it may be said with much truth that had 
that state made a determined effort to free the river from ob- 
structions the stream now would be navigable for vessels of mod- 
erate draught as far north as the great dam at Holyoke. It is 
only within the last score or so of years that Connecticut has 
taken steps to improve its harbors along Long Island sound, 
while neither state nor national assistance has been asked for the 
improvement of the great Connecticut river, a natural avenue 
of trade and commerce far superior to many rivers of the South 
upon which millions of dollars have been expended in making 
them navigable. 

In his reminiscences of early navigation on the river, Mr. 
Dewey says: "In the early part of the present [nineteenth] 
century, and before the locks and canal at Enfield were built, the 
boats used for the transportation of freight were quite small. A 
ten-ton boat was considered a large one at that time. These 
boats, bound for Springfield, or above, were propelled, unless the 
wind was favorable for sailing, by the laborious process of pol- 
ing. A number of men, called fallsmen, kept themselves in 
readiness at the foot of the falls, that is, Warehouse Point, to 
assist in 'polling over the falls'— the boats carrying six or eight 
tons. The article of rum constituted quite a proportion of the 
freight in those daj^s." 

"During these years of boating over Enfield falls, the 'John 
Cooley boating company' was formed, consisting of John Cooley, 
Hosea Day, Roderick Palmer, Henry Palmer, James Brewer 
and the Messrs. Dwight, of Springfield. A few years after (in 
1820), Edmund and Frederick Palmer and Roderick Ashley 
joined the company, afterwards Sylvester Day and the Messrs. 
Stebbins." 

"The locks and canal at Enfield were built in 182(>, and 
thereafter the freight boats began to increase in size till at last 
the capacity of some of the Springfield boats reached sixty or 
seventy tons. But before this time a trial of steamboating was 

( 190 ) 



CONNECTICUT EIVER NAVIGATION 

made. A company was formed for the purpose of the naviga- 
tion of the river above Hartford, and bore the name of the ' Con- 
necticut river valley steamboat company.' Its members chiefly 
resided in Hartford, although a few were scattered along the line 
of the river. Charles Stearns, of Springfield, was a member; 
also Gen. David Culver, of Lyme, N. H., who afterward became 
an active partner in the boating company of 'Stockbridge, Cul- 
ver & Co.' and the inventor of a number of improvements in 
boating machinery." 

From the narrative referred to it seems that the steamboat 
company continued operations only one season, running the 
"Barnet, " a small side-wheeled, high-pressure boat of twenty 
horse power, under Captain Nutt, master. In 1830, Colonel 
Clinton, son of De Witt Clinton, ran a steamboat on the river, 
and on July 4, 1832, one account says that Dr. Dean was drowned 
from the ''Adam Duncan." In 1831 the "John Ledyard" was 
put on the river. 

Steam navigation on the Connecticut dates from about 1830. 
when the Barnet made her initial trip. The boat was capable 
of running five miles an hour up stream, and under Pilot Roder- 
ick Palmer, of West Springfield, made trips as far north as Bel- 
lows Falls, Vt., but she could not ascend the rapids at Eufield. 
In 1827 Thomas Blanchard, an employee at the U. S. arsenal at 
Springfield, an ingenious mechanic having a knowledge of boat- 
building, built the "Blanchard," a side-wheeled steamer, and 
made a trial trip to Hadley in July, 1828. In September he run 
the boat with an excursion party of sixty persons to Hartford. 

According to recognized authority, Mr. Blanchard engaged 
quite extensively in river navigation about this time, though 
with what financial results is not definitely known. Following 
his venture several other boats were put on the river, in some of 
which he had an interest. One of these was the "Springfield," 
(said to have been the Blanchard, rechristened). Another was 
the "Vermont," built in Springfield in 1829 for a Brattleboro 
company, and which was 'drawn from the boat yard through 
Main and Elm streets to the foot of Harvard street, where it was 
launched. The "Massachusetts" was another, launched April 

( 191 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

14, 1831, a boat ninety-six feet long and the largest craft on the 
river. She was in service tAvelve years. Still another steamer 
was the "Agawani,'' built in Springiield by Erastus Reed, of 
Longnieadow, for Frink, Chapin & Co., proprietors of the stage 
line, who began carrying passengers to and from Hartford by 
steamer. Then there was the "Phoenix," a staunch boat, whose 
owner's name is not recalled. 

In 1831 the "Hampden" began running as a freight-towing 
boat, under the proprietorship of John Cooley & Co. The "Ver- 
mont" began carrying passengers for Sargent & Chapin. The 
"AVm. Hall" also appeared as a towing boat under the owner- 
ship of the Connecticut river valley steamboat company, and 
about the same time the "James Dwight" made daily round trips 
between Springfield and Hartford. The "Franklin" and the 
"Eagle" are also to be mentioned among the early boats on the 
river during what has been termed the navigation period.^ 

It is quite probable that during the period in which river 
navigation was an established industry other boats were built 
and in operation on the Connecticut, but the names of all of them 
cannot be recalled at this time. The period referred to extended 
from about 1828 to about 1850, when the newly built Hartford 
and Springfield railroad superseded steamboating as a carrier 
system just as effectually and more permanently than the latter 
did the old stage lines. In later years both freight and passen- 
ger boats were kept running with some attempt at regularity, but 
the results from a business view were not fully satisfactory. The 
sound steamers came up the river as far as Hartford, but could 
not pass Enfield in safety, and when the railroad system between 
Springfield and New Haven was in complete operation there was 
a rapid decline in river Jiavigation. However, between North- 

^Alonzo Converse is our authority for tlie statement that the tirm of Cooley 
& Co. at one time had as many as seven or eight transportation boats on the 
river, while Converse & Co. had as many more. The firm flrst mentioned com- 
prised John Cooley, Edmund Palmer. Frederick Palmer, Daniel Ely and a Mr. 
Day. Converse & Co. comprised Isaac Converse, Henry Palmer,- Horace Har- 
mon and George Douglas. Our informant also says (and what he says may be 
regarded as reliable) that both companies did a paying business on the river 
until 1845, or thereabouts, and that then they were '-bought off" by the rail- 
road company. 

( Ifiii ) 




S ffi 



•£ ^ .a 




C ^ a> 



2 5a 



-^ -S 



« .2 

o H 



1-13 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

ampton and Hartford steamers for pleasure purposes have 
always been run on the river. 

THE SHAD FISHERIES 

It is sometimes difficult to believe that a pursuit so promis- 
ing of permanent substantial results could have been completely 
destroyed as were the shad fisheries which were so famous in the 
Connecticut river region previous to the construction of the dam 
at Enfield. Every citizen of Hampden county is well aware of 
the fact that shad in large quantities at one time were taken 
from the river, but it is not generally understood that the estab- 
lished fisheries along that stream once constituted an important 
industry in the region. 

Whoever has read the earlier chapters of this work has 
learned that the Indians of Western Massachusetts dwelt in the 
Connecticut valley chiefly on account of the multitude of sal- 
mon and shad that inhabited the waters of the region, and also 
that when driven from the country as a result of their own base 
treachery and ingratitude, they sought again to be permitted to 
return and live in the locality of their old fishing grounds. Dur- 
ing King Philip's war the half-starved warriors who Avere allied 
to that merciless savage Avere beaten back from the frontier set- 
tlements and found i-efuge in the upper part of the province in 
the region where fish did most abound. When the first whites 
came into the valley to locate the sites for their proposed future 
abode, they soon discovered that the waters of the Connecticut 
and its principal tributaries were plentifully stocked with sal- 
mon and shad— the most nutritous of table fish known at that 
time— and reported the fact to the eastern planters as an argu- 
ment in favor of settling a colony in the new region. And when 
the settlements were founded the products of the streams were 
more frequently an article of daily food than meat of either do- 
mestic or wild animals. 

From about 1675 to about 1845 fishing was an established 
industry in Hampden county, or the region that in 1812 became 
so named. At first the towns under the laws of the general 
court regulated the fishing privileges in the smaller streams, and 

( 194 ) 



4 



COXNECTICri RIVER NAVIGATION 

in 1677 the town of Springfield voted that "Goodman" Lamb, 
Joseph Crowfoot, Sergeant iMorgan, John Clarke, senior, and 
Charles Feri^% "with such others as they shall take with them," 
be granted license to fish in the Chicopee river from the falls to 
the month of the stream. The town also fixed the price to be 
■charged for fish sold among the settlers, viz. : For fresh sal- 
mon at the river, 6d., in the village 8d. For fresh shad a half 
penny at the river and one penny in the village. The price of 
salt (packed or preserved for later use or shipment) fish was 
fixed at 12d. for "all that shall be transported." 

The Westfield river, as far up as the point called Salmon 
falls, was long noted for its abundance of salmon and shad. In- 
deed, Salmon falls was so named in allusion to one of these spe- 
cies of fish, which once swarmed in its waters. According to 
established records, in 1685 Deacon Burt, Miles Morgan, Thomas 
Mirrick (Merrick) and their associates were licensed to take fish 
from the waters of Agawam (Westfield) river, and also from the 
•Chicopee ; and in 1687 Henry Chapin was granted the privilege 
of fishing in Chicopee river, "so far as Schonungonuck fal or 
laar, " undoubtedly meaning the falls of Chicopee river. These 
pioneer fishermen were allowed to construct "wards" for taking 
fish. 

Throughout the entire period of the eighteenth century, and 
during the first forty years of the nineteenth, the Connecticut 
river was famous for its shad fisheries. In 1793 the dam at 
Turner's Falls was built, and thereafter the fish could not pass 
above that barrier. About three years later a dam was con- 
structed across the river at South Hadley, and afterward fishing 
for the market was confined to points south of that place. The 
business was prosecuted with vigor until the construction of the 
dam at Enfield, which soon entirely shut off the industry in 
Hampden county. 

In Connecticut river the shad survived the salmon many 
years, but why this was so is not satisfactorily explained by any 
authority on the subject. They disappeared from the river soon 
after 1800, and when about 1820 a seven-pound salmon was taken 
in the net of Haynes & Durfee. at Black point, in Agawam, it 

( 195 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

was regarded as a remarkable event and was heralded throiigh- 
ont the valley as a wonderful piece of news. 

In the early part of the nineteenth century and until shad 
fishing was suspended, Black point and Lancton's, both on the 
Agawam side of the river, were noted fishing grounds. Here 
Isaac Converse carried on fishing soon after 1812, and in later 
years his son, Alonzo Converse, also Isaac A. Converse (son of 
Alonzo), Seth Lancton, Haynes & Durfee, Frank and James 
Leonard carried on the same business. During the palmy days 
of the industry an average haul of the seine would yield from 
400 to 500 shad, weighing from four to five pounds each, and 
worth in the market about ten cents apiece ; and there was always 
a ready cash market for fish in Springfield, where they were 
packed and shipped all over the country. 

Alonzo Converse was born in Agawam in 1813, and from 
boyhood until the fishing period was passed he followed that pur- 
suit. He knew the river from Holyoke to Saybrook, and was 
regarded as one of the best and safest pilots in the Connecticut 
valley. He attributes the decline of the shad fishery to two 
causes — the construction of the dam at Enfield and the un- 
restricted use of gill-nets at points south of the Massachusetts 
line. 

The next good fishing ground above Black point was at Pe- 
cowsic hollow, between the mouth of Pecowsic brook and the 
South End bridge. Here the land was owned by a Mr. Combs, 
who sold the "fishing rights''^ to Mr. Converse and Mr. Lom- 
bard. Opposite Pecowsic hollow, on the Agawam side of the 
river, was an excellent ground known as "sucker point." This 
place was fished by the owner, I\Ir. Wolcott, and his help. A 

^Fishing rights were sold and not given to whomsoever might come. The 
owner of the land had the first and absolute right to fish in the river opposite 
his premises, but in case he saw fit he might sell that right to the best customer. 
Usually the rights were sold to two companies (five men were necessary to haul 
a seine properly), and while one company was drawing in its net with the 
"catch," the other would swing its seine into the water. Fishing rights cost 
from $300 to |400 each, according to the quality of the fishing ground. Mr. 
Converse paid for his two rights about .$700. The fishing season began about 
April 15, and closed June 1. After paying help and all other expenses a fair 
season would yield the owner of a fishing right about $500. 

( 196 ) 



CONNECTICUT RIVER NAVIGATION 

little further up. still on the west side and about opposite the 
foot of York street, was a reasonably fair fishing ground known 
locally as "Redgiirs," where Isaac Converse owned the fishing 
right. Just above the "toll bridge" (the old covered bridge 
at the foot of Bridge street, in Springfield), on the city side of 
the river, was "Beebe's" fishing grounds, good only for the 
early part of the season. It was a part of the Stebbins 
property and was fished by the owner. Just below the North 
End bridge, on the West Springfield side, was the "Beebe fish- 
ing place," a fair producer in a good season. Above Beebe's, 
"under the hill," as locally described, was another good fishing 
place, owned and carried on by Mr. White (probably Daniel 
White). On the east side of the river, about opposite River- 
dale, was the once famous ' ' double ditch, ' ' where extensive fish- 
ing operations were carried on by Ruell Cooley and Francis 
Brewer and brothers. This was an exceptionally good ground, 
and in one day Cooley caught 1,800 shad, which then was re- 
garded as an unusual yield. A little farther up. on the west 
side, in a bend in the river, about a mile and one-half below Wil- 
limansett, was a fishing place owned by one Day (probably Syl- 
vester), a man eighty years old, but a famous Avaterman three- 
quarters of a century ago. Above this point there was no fish- 
ing ground of any consequence, except at South Hadley Falls, 
on the east side of the river, where the fish gathered in immense 
numbers vainly striving to pass over the dam. The largest 
single haul made at this place was 2,000 shad. 



( 11^7 ) 



CHAPTER XV 

HAMPDEN COUNTY IN THE WAR OF 1861-65 

BY JAMES L. BOWEN 

The record of Massachusetts in the war for the preservation 
of the Union, from 1861 to I860, was in keeping with its proud 
prestige among the states composing tlie nation, and one of 
which all who love its good name may justly feel proud. In the 
field as in legislative halls, in conflict on land and sea, as in coun- 
cil chambers, the sons of the old Bay State were leaders; while 
in the blessed otfices of mercy which sought to alleviate the suf- 
ferings of those dreadful years, and so far as possible to rob war 
of its horrors, in whatever way the purpose might be advanced, 
the whole people, irrespective of age, sex, or social condition, 
joined with an exemplary energy. 

Before the inauguration of Ciovernor Andrew, January 5, 
1861, the war cloud grew threatening, and thoughtful men be- 
gan to despair of averting an appeal to arms. Yet so dreadful 
seemed that alternative that, Avhile nerving themselves for the 
struggle should it come, the people of the state neglected no 
opportunity to urge conciliation and concession, and late in the 
month a petition bearing 15,000 pi'ominent names was sent to 
the Massachusetts delegation in congress, urging conciliatory 
measures. The people were ready to sanction any reasonable 
sacrifice for the sake of peace, but they were not ready to see the 
nation, in the building of which their fathers had borne so honor- 
able a part, fall in ruins about them. If that were to be the 
alternative, they would prove that the sons Avere ready to sacri- 
fice for the preservation as much as the ancestors for the crea- 
tion. In his inaugural Governor Andrew spoke for the whole 

( 198 ) 




G. A. R. Building, Court Street, Springfield 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

state when he said. "The people will forever stand by the coun- 
try." And Adjutant-General William Schouler, in responding 
to a toast in honor of Major Anderson, Avhile the latter was be- 
sieged in Fort Sumter, comprehensively and eloquently said : 
"We have no boasts to make. History tells what the men of 
Massachusetts have done, and they will never disgrace that his- 
tory. " These calm utterances of earnest men were typical of 
the invincible purposes of the loyal people of the commonwealth ; 
they put into modest, candid words that patriotic determination 
which led the soldiers of the old Bay State, hopeful and un- 
shrinking, through every disaster and discouragement to final 
consummation. 

During the war period the state of Massachusetts furnished 
for all periods of service 159,254 soldiers and sailors— a surplus 
over all calls of 13,492, while at least 3,000 enlisted in organiza- 
tions of other states, for which the Bay state received no credit. 
Of the officers and men serving on the Massachusetts quota. 3.543 
were killed in action. 1,986 died of wounds, 5.672 of disease, 1,843 
in confederate prisons, while 1,026 were missing and never ac- 
counted for— nearly all of whom no doubt lost their lives. In 
this connection it is but simple justice to say that the men of 
Massachusetts received from all quarters the highest commenda- 
tion for the manliness, courage, and intelligence with which they 
bore the sufferings incidental to soldier life, especially in hos- 
pital; the cheerfulness and strong rallying power manifested, 
their prompt return to duty on recovery, their christian heroism 
in meeting death when that became the sad alternative. Of 
those who returned to their homes, it is equally gratifying to 
know that their after lives gave no indication of general demoral- 
ization from the associations met during their soldier days. 
Where the early life gave good promise, it was generally broad- 
ened and strengthened by the experience, and if there were 
cases of evil habits contracted, so on the other hand there were 
unquestionably genuine cases of reformation of character, quite 
as marked as the reverse. 

At the beginning of the year 1861 the militia force of the 
state consisted of about 5,600 officers and men, comprised in nine 

( 200 ) 



THE ^yAE OF 1861-65 

regiments, seven battalions, and thirteen unattached companies. 
Of this force only one company— Co. F, 10th Infantry, of 
Springfield— was located in Hampden county, which had thus 
less than one per cent, of the militia force of the state— a most 
inadequate proportion for a county having approximately fif- 
teen per cent, of the population. But the way for improvement 
was opened by action taken during the early months of the year, 
looking to putting the state forces in better condition to respond 
to any calls which might be made by the national government. 

On the 16th of January a general order was issued by au- 
thority of the governor, directing that every company be put 
into efficient condition for active service if called upon. Those 
who from age, physical defect, or other cause, were unable or 
unwilling to serve, were to be honorably discharged, the com- 
panies were to be recruited to the maxinuuu number, and held 
in readiness to answer any calls which might be made upon 
them. In the early part of February an act passed the state 
legislature authorizing the organization of "companies of artil- 
lery" and "other companies." on approval of the governor and 
council, all of which were to be disbanded whenever the governor 
or the legislature might decide that their services were no longer 
required. Under this provision some progress had been made 
previous to the firing on Fort Sumter. April 12, and that event, 
with the call for 75.000 militia from the loyal states for three 
months' service, proved the signal for the opening of recruiting 
offices in every section of the state. Hampden county was not 
called upon to help in filling the militia quota, but its opportu- 
nity came with the organization for the first of the three-years 
regiments, and thereafter it performed nobly its part, every 
town in the county furnishing men in excess of its quota. 

The Tenth Infautrij.-On the M of May, 1861. President 
Lincoln called for some 40.000 volunteers for three years' ser- 
vice, and on the 22d of the month tardy permission was given for 
Massachusetts to furnish six regiments under that call. The 
10th regiment of militia was selected as the basis for one of these 
volunteer regiments, and Springfield was designated as its place 
of rendezvous: so that this organization, the first to leave the 

( 201 ) 



OIR COUNTY AXU ITS PEOPLE 

county for the theatre of war. may, properly be reerarded as a 
Hampden county command, althougli but four of its ten com- 
panies were organized within the county limits. Three com- 
panies came from Berkshire county, two from Franklin, and one 
from Hampshii-e. and all had assembled at the camping ground 
on Hampden park by the 16th of June. The Hampden county 
companies consisted of E, recruited at Springfield; F, the old 
company of that designation, but better known as the Spring- 
field city guard ; I, composed of recruits from West Springfield 
and Holyoke, each of which towns had undertaken to raise a 
company ; and K, recruited at Westfield. A company recruited 
on Hampden park, Springfield, by Oliver Edwards, was dis- 
banded, the men being assigned to other companies not filled to 
the standard of ninety-eight enlisted men each, and Captain 
Edwards was given the position of adjutant of the 10th. The 
regiment was mustered into the United States service June 21, 
Avith the following roster of officers : 

Field and Staff. — Colonel, Henry S. Briggs of Pittsfield; 
lieutenant-colonel, Jefford M. Decker of Lawrence ; major, Wil- 
liam R. jNIarsh of Northampton ; surgeon, Cyrus N. Chamberlain 
of Northampton : assistant surgeon. William Holbrook of 
Palmer: chaplain. Frederick A. Barton of Springfield; adjutant, 
Oliver Edwards of Springfield ; quartermaster. John W. How- 
land of North Adams; sergeant-major, Edward K. Wilcox of 
Springfield; quartermaster-sergeant. Elihu B. AVhittlesey of 
Pittsfield ; hospital steward, Charles C. AVells of Northampton ; 
leader of band, William D. Hodge of North Adams: principal 
musician, John L. Gaffney of Chicopee. 

Line Officers. — Co. A, Great Barrington — Captain, Ralph 
0. Ives ; first lieutenant. James L. Bacon ; second lieutenant, 
Heniy L. Wilcox. Co. B. Johnson Grays of Adams— Captain, 
Elisha Smart: first lieutenant. Samuel C. Traver: second lieu- 
tenant. Lewis AV. Goddard. Co. C, Northampton — Captain, 
Joseph B. Pai-sons ; first lieutenant, James H. Wetherell : second 
lieutenant. Flavel ShurtlefP. Co. D, Pollock Guard of Pittsfield— 
Captain, Thomas W. Clapp; first lieutenant, Charles Wheeler; 
second lieutenant. Dwight Hubbard. Co. E — Captain, Fred 

( 202 ) 



/' 



THE AVAR OF 1861-65 

Barton of AVestfield : first lieutenant, Byron Porter of Westfield ; 
second lieutenant, Wallace A. Putnam of Danvers. Co. F, 
Springfield City Guard — Captain, Hosea C. Lombard; first lieu- 
tenant. Hiram A. Keith; second lieutenant, George AV. BigeloAV. 
Co. G, Greenfield Guards— Captain, Edwin E. Day; first lieu- 
tenant. George Pierce; second lieutenant, Lorenzo M. Reming- 
ton. Co. H, Shelburne Falls— Captain. Ozro Miller; first lieu- 
tenant. Chandler J. AVoodward : second lieutenant, Benjamin F. 
Leland. Co. I— Captain, John H. Clifford of Holyoke; first 
lieutenant, Joseph K. Newell of Springfield : second lieutenant, 
Joseph H. Bennett of AA'est Springfield. Co. K, AVestfield— 
Captain, Lucius B. Walkley: first lieutenant, David M. Chase; 
second lieutenant, Edwin T. Johnson. 

The regiment was reviewed by the governor on the 10th of 
July, received state and national colors on the 16th, presented by 
the ladies of Springfield, and on the 16th went to Medford, Avhere 
it encamped for a few days. It started for Washington on the 
25th, reached that city three days later, and was incorporated in 
the army of the Potomac. It remained in camp at Brightwood, 
a few miles north of AA'ashington, during the long months which 
preceded the Peninsula campaign of General McClellan, in the 
spring of 1862, being engaged in building fortifications and rou- 
tine camp duties. 

Its first serious engagement occurred at the battle of Fair 
Oaks. i\Iay 81. 1862, where the regiment lost twenty-seven officers 
and men killed and ninety-five wounded, six of the latter fatally. 
Fighting most gallantly during all of the afternoon, the regiment 
won high praise for its heroic conduct, which was further demon- 
strated at the battle of Malvern Hill, on the 1st of July, when 
out of 400 men taken into action it lost ten killed and over sev- 
enty wounded. The regiment participated in all the campaigns 
of the army of the Potomac which followed, until the expiration 
of its term of service, rendering especially valuable service at the 
battle of Salem Church, Alay 3, 1868, and the battle of the Angle, 
May 12, 1864. It was relieved from duty in front of Peters- 
burg June 19, 1864, the re-enlisted men and recruits being trans- 
ferred to the Thirty-seventh Alassaehusetts (q. v.), the original 

( 203 ) 



OUR COUMY AND ITS PEOPLE 

members of the regiment returning to Springfield, which they 
reached on the 25th, and being mustered out of service a few 
days later. 

From a total enrollment of 1,255, the reigment lost 10 offi- 
cers and 124 men killed in action or died from Avounds, and one 
officer and 55 men died from disease, accidents, etc., making a 
total of 190 deaths. It participated in the following battles and 
engagements, not including minor skirmishes : 

Siege of Yorktown, April 4-May 4, 1862 ; Williamsburg, 
May 5, 1862 ; Fair Oaks, May 31, 1862 ; Oak Grove, June 25, 
1862 : Malvern Hill, July 1, 1862 ; Marye's Heights, May 3, 1863 ; 
Salem Church, May 3-4, 1863; Franklin's Crossing, June, 1863; 
Gettysburg, July 2-3, 1863 ; Rappahannock Station, November 7, 
1863 ; Wilderness, May 5-6, 1864 ; Operations at Mine Run, No- 
vember 26-28, 1863 ; Laurel Hill, May 8, 1864 ; Spottsylvania, 
May 12, 1864 : Spottsylvania Court House, May 18, 1864 : North 
Anna, May 24. 1864; Hanover Town, May 28, 1864; Peake's 
Station, May 30, 1864: Cold Harbor, June 1-12, 1864; Peters- 
burg, June 17-19, 1864. 

The Eighteenth Infantry. — The Eighteenth regiment had as 
an organization no connection with Hampden county, being en- 
camped at Dedham and leaving the state, only partially organ- 
ized, August 20, 1861. But its colonel and several other offi- 
cers, as well as forty-three of the enlisted men, were from Hamp- 
den county, entitling the regiment to more than casual mention 
in these pages. The officers from Hampden county were as fol- 
lows : 

Colonel, James Barnes of Springfield ; surgeons, David P. 
Smith, of Spi-ingfield, promoted to brigade surgeon ; and Wil- 
liam Holbrook of Palmer ; assistant surgeon, Edwin F. Silcox of 
Springfield : second lieutenant, James D. Orne of Springfield, 
promoted to first lieutenant and to captain ; second lieutenant, 
John D. Isbell of Springfield, promoted from quartermaster- 
sergeant. 

The I'egiment served with distinction in the army of the 
Potomac. Fifth corps, and of a total enrollment of 1,365 lost 9 
officers and 114 men killed or mortally wounded in battle, while 2 

( 204 ) 



THE V^AB OF 1861-65 

officers and 127 ineu died from disease, etc., making a total death 
loss of 252. 

The Tiventy-first Infantry. — 'Hie Twenty-first regiment was 
organized at Worcester in July and August, 1861, and in addi- 
tion to several commissioned officers, bore on its rolls the names 
of seventy-seven enlisted men from Hampden county, making its 
history of interest in this connection. Those from Hampden 
county commissioned in the regiment were as follows : 

Captain, John D. Frazer of Holyoke ; captain, Thomas 
Francis of Palmer ; first lieutenant, Wells Willard of Spring- 
field; first lieutenant, Asa E. Hayward of Springfield; second 
lieutenant, James W. Hopkins of Springfield ; second lieutenant, 
John Kelt of Holyoke ; hospital steward, Frank G. Davis of 
Palmer. 

This regiment was the first selected for the Burnside expedi- 
tion against the North Carolina coast, and it served in North 
Carolina until the Ninth corps was transferred to Virginia, 
where it fought at the Second Bull Run, Chantilly, Antietam, 
and Fredericksburg. In February, 1863, it was transferred to 
Burnside 's command in Kentucky, serving in that state and 
Tennessee until the return of the Ninth corps to the army of the 
Potomac in the spring of 1864. In the campaign under Cjeneral 
rirant from the Wilderness to Petersburg the dwindling regi- 
ment bore its full share until the 18th of August, 1864, when the 
original members were mustered out, leaving a battalion of three 
small companies which two months later was attached to the 
Thirty-sixth Massachusetts regiment. From an enrollment of 
1,435. the Twenty-first lost 11 officers and 148 men killed or mor- 
tally wounded in action, and 2 officers and 89 men died from dis- 
ease—a total of 250. 

The Tiventy-sevevth Lufantry.—Wiihin two months after 
the departure of the Tenth regiment from the rendezvous at 
Springfield, another regiment began to gather, the camping 
ground being selected just east of the city's residential portion. 
It covered very much the same ground, four of the companies as 
organized coming from Hampden county, two each from Berk- 
shire and Hampshire, one from Franklin, and one from north- 

( 205 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

western "Worcester. The regiment was designated as the 
Twenty-seventh, and by the 25th of October, 1861. had been fully 
recruited, armed, equipped and mustered, with the following ros- 
ter of officers : 

Field iuid iS'/ay^'— Colonel, Horace G. Lee of Springfield; 
lieutenant-colonel, Luke Lyman of Northampton ; major, Wil- 
liam M. Brown of Adams; surgeon, George A. Otis of Spring- 
field ; assistant surgeon, Samuel Camp of Great Harrington ; 
chaplain. Miles Sanford of Adams; adjutant, George W. Bart- 
lett of Greenfield ; quartermaster, William H. Tyler of Adams : 
sergeant-major, Henry C. Dwight of Northampton ; quartermas- 
ter-sergeant, George M. Bowler of Adams; commissary-sergeant, 
John J. Ellis of Lynn ; hospital steward, George E. Fuller of 
Palmer; principal musician. Lineus C. Skinner of Amherst; 
leader of band, Amos Bond of Springfield. 

Line Offieers—iJo. A— Captain, Samuel C. Vance of Indian- 
apolis, Ind. ; first lieutenant, Mark H. Spaulding of Northamp- 
ton ; second lieutenant, Edwin C. Clark of Northampton. Co. 
B— Captain. Adin W. Caswell of Gardner; first lieutenant, 
Parker W. McManus of Davenport, la. ; second lieutenant, 
Lovell H. Horton of Athol. Co. C, Greenfield— Captain. AVil- 
liam A. Walker; first lieutenant. Joseph H. Nutting; second lieu- 
tenant. William F. Barrett. Co. D— Captain, Timothy W. 
Sloan of Amherst; first lieutenant. Ami E. Dennison of Am- 
herst ; second lieutenant, John S. Aitcheson of Chicopee. Co. 
E— Captain, Gustavus A. Fuller of Springfield; first lieutenant, 
John W. Trafton of Springfield ; second lieutenant, Luther J. 
Bradley of Lee. Co. F — Captain. Lucius F. Thayer of West- 
field ; first lieutenant, John W. INIoore of Tolland ; second lieu- 
tenant, James H. Fowler of Westfield. Co. G— Captain, R. 
Ripley Swift of Chicopee; first lieutenant, Peter S. Bailey of 
Springfield : second lieutenant, Frederick 0. Wright of North- 
ampton. Co. H— Captain, Walter G. Bartholomew of Spring- 
field ; firet lieutenant, Charles D. Sanford of Adams ; second lieu- 
tenant, William H. H. Briggs of Adams. Co. I— Captain. 
Henry A. Hubbard of Ludlow : first lieutenant. Edward K. Wil- 
cox of Springfield ; second lieutenant. Cyrus Goodale of Wilbra- 

( 206 ) 



THE MAI! OF 1861-65 

ham. C"o. K. Springfield — C'nptaiii, Horace K. Cooley; first 
lieutenant, George AVarner: second lieutenant. AY. Chapman 
Hunt. 

Leaving Springfield on the 2d of November, 1861, the regi- 
ment went to Annapolis. ]\Id., where it formed part of the Burn- 
side expedition against North Carolina. It rendered excellent 
service in the operations in that state, until October 10, 1863, 
Avhen it was transferred with its brigade to Virginia, being as- 
signed during the winter to provost duty at Portsmouth and 
Norfolk. At this time enough members of the regiment re- 
enlisted to insure the continuance of the organization after the 
expiration of the original three-years' term of enlistment. The 
Twenty-seventh entered service in the spring of 1864 as a part 
of General Butler's army of the James, its reports showing a 
membership, including recruits, of 933 officers and men. It 
took part in several minor engagements, and on the 16th of ]\Iay 
at Drewry's Bluff suffered a terrible disaster, losing 65 in killed 
and wounded and 248, including 12 of the wounded, made pris- 
oners. Being detached as part of a provisional division under 
Gen. Charles Devens to join the army of the Potomac at Cold 
Harbor, the Twenty-seventh took part in the murderous assault 
on the Confederate lines on the morning of June 3, 1864, losing 
17 killed, 65 wounded, and four taken prisoners. Of the 744 
men who accompanied the colors of the regiment from Yorktown 
a month previous only 83 now remained for duty, and of these 
14 more were lost during the subsequent days before Cold Har- 
bor. In the operations against Petersburg, up to the 18th of 
June, the Twenty-seventh lost 50 officers and men in killed and 
wounded, only one commissioned officer — a first lieutenant- 
remaining for duty. 

Those original members of the regiment who had not re- 
enlisted were relieved from duty about the 20th of September, 
1864, reached Springfield on the 28tli, and were mustered out 
the following day. The re-enlisted men and recruits still com- 
posing the regiment in the field were returned to North Carolina 
for duty, and under Lieutenant-Colonel AYalter G. Bartholomew 
remained in the service until the close of the war. On the 8th 

( 207 ) 



01' R COi'MY AM) ITS PEOPLE 

of March, 1865, the regiment was siirronnded and almost anni- 
hilated at the battle of Southwest Creek, seven men only escap- 
ing death or capture, 147 being made prisoners, 40 of whom were 
wounded. The captured were marched to Libby prison, where 
they were paroled, and on reaching the union lines were given a 
month's furlough to Massachusetts. The nucleus remaining in 
the service, which by the addition of convalescents and recruits 
soon came to number about thirty, remained on guard duty and 
similar detail until the 26th of June, when it was mustered out 
of service, returning to Keadville, Mass., where the final pay- 
ments were made and the Twenty-seventh regiment was for- 
mally disbanded on the 19th of July. 

The command had a total enrollment of 1,567, of whom 9 
officers and 128 men were killed or mortally wounded in action, 
while 3 officers and 261 men died from other causes, making a 
total of 401 deaths. Of this number more than 120 died in the 
confederate prison pen at Andersonville, Ga. The principal 
battles in which the regiment participated w'ere as follows: 

Eoanoke Island, February 8, 1862; Newbern, March 14, 
1862: Goldsboro, December 17, 1862: Siege of Washington, N. 
C, March 30- April 16, 1863 : Dover Road, N. C, April 28, 1863 ; 
Dunn's Farm, May 6, 1864; Walthal Junction, May 7, 1864; 
Arrowfield Church, May 9, 1864; Drewry's Bluff, May 16, 1864; 
Cold Harbor, June 2-3, 1864: Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864; 
Southwest Creek, ^March 8, 1865. 

The Thirty-first Infantry.— The organization afterward 
known as the Thirty-first IMassachusetts infantry volunteers was 
raised by Gen. Benjamin F. Butler under authority direct from 
the war department at Washington, and was at first designated 
as the Western Bay State regiment. It gathered at Pittsfield, 
the recruits coming from all of the western portion of the state, 
with many from Vermont and New York. Hampden county 
furnished 175 enlisted men, and the following commissioned offi- 
cers: 

Captain, Edward P. Nettleton of Chicopee, promoted to 
lieutenant-colonel, and to colonel, though not mustered to the lat- 
ter rank ; first lieutenant, Joseph L. Hallett of Springfield ; sec- 

( 208 ) 



THE ^yAR OF 1861-65 

oncl lieutenant, Frank A. Cook of Springtield, promoted to first 
lieutenant ; second lieutenant, Alexander H. G. Lewis of Bland- 
ford, promoted to first lieutenant; second lieutenant, Martin 
M. Pulver of Springfield; second lieutenant, John Hiues of 
Chicopee; second lieutenant, George B. Oaks of Holyoke, not 
mustered and discharged as first sergeant. 

Leaving the state on the 20th of February, 1862, the regi- 
ment went to Ship Island, where the forces for General Butler 's 
expedition against Ncav Orleans were being gathered, and was 
the first organization to land at New Orleans on the occupation 
of that city. Until the following spring the companies com- 
posing the regiment were on garrison duty at various points in 
and near the city. In the active operations of the spring of 1863 
the regiment took some part, without being seriously engaged 
until the siege of Port Hudson, in which sixty-two enlisted men 
were killed or wounded. After the surrender of that strong- 
hold the regiment was engaged in various excursions through the 
sun'ounding country, but without any serious engagements. 

During December, 1863, the men were mounted and trained 
in cavalry tactics, and the regiment was from that time com- 
monly spoken of as the Sixth Massachusetts cavalry, though its 
official designation was never changed. In the Red river cam- 
paign of the following spring it bore an arduous part, and in the 
battle of Sabine Cross Roads, April 8. under command of Cap- 
tain Nettleton, it made a gallant charge against an overwhelm- 
ingly superior force of the victorious enemy, losing sixty-two 
men, but failing to more than temporarily check the adverse for- 
tunes of the day. In the subsequent operations in the depart- 
ment the regiment was kept constantly busy, scouting, skirmish- 
ing, and in guard duty, a battalion of re-enlisted men and re- 
cruits remaining in the service after the expii-ation of the orig- 
inal term of enlistment, and taking active part in the operations 
against Mobile in the spring of 1865. The command was mus- 
tered out of the United States ser\ice September 9, 1865. 

During its service the reigment lost 52 enlisted men killed 
or mortally wounded in action, and 3 officers and 150 men died 
from disease and accidents, making a death loss of 205 from a 
total enrollment of 1,343. 



14-1 



( 209 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

The Thirty-fourth Infantry.— Thin reginieut Avas provided 
for by Governor Andrew's order of May 29, 1862, which directed 
that ten of the thirty companies then called for should be raised 
in the five western counties of the state, forming' a regiment to 
encamp on the Agricultural grounds at Worcester. Under this 
arrangement Companies D and G were practically Hampden 
county organizations, as the former had ninety-eight and the 
latter eighty-six enlisted men from this county, while enough 
Hampden county men were scattered through the other com- 
panies to raise the total to 217, in addition to the following com- 
missioned officers. 

Captain, George W. Thompson of Springfield: captain, 
Wells Willard of Springfield : first lieutenant, Frederick A. Judd 
of Holyoke; first lieutenant, Charles H. Morrill of Westfield; 
second lieutenant, J. Austin Lyman of Springfield ; second lieu- 
tenant, Jere Horton of Westfield; second lieutenant, Alfred 
Dibble of Southwick : second lieutenant. Daniel C. Wishart of 
Westfield. 

The Thirty-fourth left the state on the 15th of August, 1862, 
and went to Washington, remaining on duty in the defenses of 
that city until July 9, 1863, when it was ordered to the vicinity 
of Harper's Ferry, where it remained until late in April, 1864, 
making occasional excursions up the Shenandoah valley, engag- 
ing in some skirmishing and occasional fighting, but was not 
heavily engaged until the advance of General Siegel's forces up 
the valley and the battle of New Market, May 15, 1864. From 
that time the regiment was constantly active, suffering seriously 
at the battle of Piedmont, June 5, participating in the terrible 
scramble of General Hunter's forces through the mountains of 
West Virginia, returning to take a heroic part in the subsequent 
operations in the valley during the following months, winning 
great credit for its effective work at the battle of the Opequan on 
the 19th of September, as well as in the later engagements in that 
region. In December the regiment with its division was trans- 
ferred to the scene of operations in front of Petersburg, and in 
the stirring events of the spring of 1865, witnessing the over- 
throw of the rebellion, it well maintained the prestige won on 

( 210 ) 



THE ^yAR OF 1861-65 

so many hard fought fields. The war ended, the remnant of the 
command was mustered out of the United States service on the 
15th of June, 1865. Its record is an especially honorable one 
when it is borne in mind that its battle losses were nearly all sus- 
tained within less than a year, and in fact much the larger por- 
tion of them inside of six months. Of a total enrollment of 
1,306 members, the regiment lost 7 officers and 128 enlisted men 
killed or mortally wounded in action, and 2 officers and 132 men 
died from disease and other causes, making a tc^tal death roll of 
269. 

The Thirty-sixth Infantry. — The Thirty-sixth was a 
Worcester county regiment, with the exception of Company E, 
which had sixty-five men from Hampden county, mostly repre- 
senting the towns of Palmer and Monson, while scattered 
through the other companies were enough Hampden county men 
to bring the total up to eighty-four for the regiment, in addition 
to the following officers : 

Captain, Stephen C. AYarriner of Monson : first lieutenant. 
Robert M. Cross of Palmer ; sergeant-major, (3stenello Wash- 
burn of Holyoke ; principal nmsician, Lorenzo C. Strickland of 
Palmer. 

This regiment left camp at Worcester September 2, 1862, 
going to Boston and thence by water to Washington, where it 
was assigned to the Ninth corps, which it joined soon after the 
battle of Antietam. It participated in the battle of Fredericks- 
burg, went with its corps to Kentucky in February, 1863. rein- 
forced Ceneral Grant's army before Yicksburg early in June, 
after the surrender followed Johnston's army into Mississippi, 
and returned to the old camp in Kentucky in August, having 
suffered terribly from sickness. Thence the regiment moved 
with its corps to Tennessee, returning to rejoin the army of the 
Potomac in the spring of 1864, with which its fortunes were 
identified from the opening of the campaign in the Wilderness, 
during the operations against Petersburg, until the close of the 
war in the following spring. It was mustered out of the na- 
tional service June 8, 1865. 

Of a total enrollment of 1.317 members, the regiment lost 6 
officers and 105 men killed or mortally wounded in action, while 

( 311 ) 



01 R COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

3 officers and 160 men died of disease or accident, making a total 
death roll of 274. 

TJie Tliirty-sevodh I iifdiitrij. — Thin regiment was organ- 
ized at Pittsfield, under the president's call of July 1, 1862, for 
300,000 volunteers to serve for three years. It was composed 
principally of men from the four western counties of the state, 
Hampden county furnishing 310 enlisted men. in addition to the 
follo^^^ng officers, connnissioned at the organization of the regi- 
ment, several of whom attained to higher rank: 

Colonel, Oliver Edwards of Springfield; chaplain, Rev. 
Frank C. Morse of Blandford; sergeant-major, Robert A. Gray 
of Springfield ; principal musician, John L. Galfney of Chico- 
l^ee. Co. A — Captain, Jarvis P. Kelley; first lieutenant, Eli 
T. Blackmer; second lieutenant, Carlos C. Wellman. all of Chico- 
pee. Co. D — Captain, Algernon S. Flagg of Wilbraham. Co. 
F — Captain, Eugene A. Allen of Springfield. Co,. II — Second 
lieutenant, Andrew L. Bush of AYestfield. Co. I — Captain, 
Hugh Donnelly: first lieutenant, J. Milton Fvdler: second lieu- 
tenant, Charles Phelps, all of Springfield. Co. K— First lieu- 
tenant, John B. ]\Iulloy : second lieutenant, George B. Chandley, 
both of Springfield. 

The regiment left Pittsfield for the front September 7, 1862, 
and after a short encampment on Arlington Heights joined the 
army of the Potomac, then ('neami)ed in Maryland, a few miles 
from the battlefield of Antietam. It participated in the subse- 
quent movements of that army, forming a part of the Sixth 
corps, until July 31, 1863, when it was ordered to New York as 
one of the four select regiments for duty during the draft. This 
duty was very creditably performed, and the regiment returned 
to the army in October, where it served with distinction until the 
close of the war. Its service was especially valuable at the bat- 
tle of the Wilderness, at Spottsylvania, at the battle of the Ope- 
quan, in the final assault upon Petersburg, and the battle of 
Sailor's Creek. From August, 1864, it was armed with the 
Spencer repeating rifle, making it a veiy formidable organization 
in active sei-vice. The fighting at Sailor's Creek was hand to 
hand, and rated as among the most desperate of tbe war. Four 

( -212 ) 



THE ^yAR OF 1861-65 

battle tlags were captured by the Thirty-seventh during the term 
of its service, and four of its members received Congressional 
medals of honor for distinguished gallantry in action. 

Of a total enrollment of 1,314 members, the regiment lost 4 
officers and 165 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded in 
action, while 92 enlisted men died from disease, accident, or in 
confederate prisons, making a total death roll of 261. The regi- 
ment took part in the following battles and engagements : 

Fredericksburg, December 11-15, 1862; Marye's Heights, 
May 3, 1863; Salem Church, May 3-4, 1863; Franklin's Cross- 
ing, June, 1863 ; Gettysburg, July 2-3, 1863 ; Rappahannock Sta- 
tion, November 7, 1863 ; Mine Run, November 30, 1863 ; Wilder- 
ness, May 5-6, 1864 ; Laurel Hill, May 8, 1864 ; the Angle, May 
12, 1864; Spottsylvania Court House, May 18, 1864; North 
Anna, May 24, 1864; Cold Harbor, June 1-12, 1864; Petersburg, 
June 18, 1864: Fort Stevens, July 12, 1864; Charlestown, Au- 
gust 21. 1864; the Opequan, September 19, 1864; Hatcher's 
Run, February 5, 1865 ; Fort Stedman, March 25, 1865 ; Fall of 
Petersburg, April 2, 1865; Sailor's Creek, April 6, 1865. 

The Forty-sixth Inf ant i-y. — The Forty-sixth was the most 
exclusively a Hampden county organization of any regiment 
sent from Massachusetts to the war. It was recruited under the 
call of the president on August 4, 1862, for 300,000 recruits for 
nine months' service, and the rendezvous was naturally at 
Springfield. The regiment was organized largely through the 
efforts of Rev. George Bowler, of AVestfield, who was made its 
first colonel. The several companies gathered at Camp N. P. 
Banks as they became sufficiently advanced, and when filled 
Avere mustered into the United States service— the first on Sep- 
tember 24, and the last on October 22. The field and staff were 
mustered on the 30th of October, the original list being as fol- 
lows : 

Field and Staff . — Colonel, George Bowler of Westfield ; 
lieutenant-colonel, William S. Shurtleft' of Springfield; major, 
Lucius B. Walkley of Westfield ; surgeon, James H. Waterman 
of Westfield; assistant surgeon, Thomas Gilfillan of Cumming- 
ton ; chaplain, George W. Gorham of Holyoke ; adjutant, James 

( 213 ) 



OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE 

C. Smith of Chicopee: quartermaster, Henry M. Morehouse of 
Springfield; sergeant-major, Joseph F. Field of Westfield; quar- 
termaster-sergeant, George B, Pierce of Holyoke ; commissary- 
sergeant, Alfred J. Newton of INIonson ; hospital steward, John 
R. Greenleaf of Ware. 

Line Officers. — Co. A, Springfield— Captain, Samuel B. 
Spooner; first lieutenant, Lewis A. Tifft; second lieutenant, 
Daniel J. Marsh. Co. B, Holyoke— Captain, Daniel E. Kings- 
bury ; first lieutenant, Henry Wheeler ; second lieutenant, Amos 
0. Kinney. Co. C, AVestfield— Captain, Andrew Campbell 2d; 
first lieutenant, Joseph C. Noble; second lieutenant, John T. 
Spear. Co. D, Chicopee— Captain. David E. Grimes; first lieu- 
tenant, George H. Knapp ; second lieutenant, David Bronson. 
Co. E— Captain, James M. Justin of Granville; first lieutenant, 
Charles U. Ely of AVest Springfield ; second lieutenant, Lathrop 
Lee of Southwick. Co. F— Captain, Russell H. Conwell of 
Worthington ; first lieutenant, Horace Heath of Russell ; second 
lieutenant, Charles Fay of Chester. Co. G— Captain, Francis 

D. Lincoln of Brimfield ; first lieutenant, George H. Howe of 
]\Ionson ; second lieutenant, Julius M. Lyon of Wales. Co. H— 
Captain, Francis C. Cook of Palmer; first lieutenant, William 
Shaw of Belchertown; second lieutenant, George S. Dixon of 
Monson. Co. I— Captain, William C. Leonard of Wilbraham; 
first lieutenant, Reuben DeWitt of Agawam ; second lieutenant, 
N. Saxton Cooley of Longmeadow. Co. K— Captain, John 
Avery of Westfield ; fii*st lieutenant, Elisha C. Tower of Worth- 
ington ; second lieutenant, George M. Stewart of AVales. 

Of the entire list of officers, only five came from outside the 
county limits, these being from bordering Hampshire county 
towns, and of the enlisted men a still larger proportion belonged 
to Hampden county. Camp was broken on the 5th of Novem- 
ber, the regiment going to Boston, whence it sailed for Newbem, 
N. C. reaching that city on the 15th. It was attached to Col. 
Horace C. Lee's brigade, composed of ^Massachusetts regiments. 
Its first active service was in connection with the Goldsboro ex- 
pedition, which set forth on the morning of December 11, 1862. 
It supported a battery during the battle of Kinston on the 14th, 

( 214 ) 



THE ^yAR OF 1861-65 

furnished a detail of fifty sharpshooters for the fight at White- 
hall on the 16th, and was more closely engaged at the battle of 
Goldsboro on the 17th, supporting Belger's battery during the 
battle proper, and after the return of the union troops began 
reinforcing the rear guard— its casualties being one man killed 
and four wounded during the expedition. A march of three 
days took the regiment back to its camp. 

At this time Colonel Bowler, who had been too ill to com- 
mand the regiment on the expedition, though he accompanied it 
as far as Kinston, resigned his commission, and promotions in 
regular order were conferred upon Lieutenant- Colonel Shurtleff, 
Major Walkley, and Captain Spooner. The operations of the 
spring of 1863 developed considerable activity on the part of the 
confederates, calling for corresponding alertness on the part of 
the union forces. In ^larch six companies of the regiment were 
sent to Plymouth, on the Roanoke river, Mdiich was threatened 
by a hostile force ; but they returned to Newbern May 8 mthout 
having been seriously engaged. On the 21st the regiment 
formed part of a force engaged in an expedition to drive a body 
of confederates from "Gum Swamp," eight miles from Kins- 
ton, the purpose being accomplished without loss on the part of 
the Forty-sixth. 

Companies A and I, under Major Spooner, were left at New- 
bern when the regiment proper went to Plymouth, and took an 
honorable part in the defense of the city. Early in May these 
companies were sent to Batchelder's Creek to serve on outpost 
duty under Colonel Jones of the Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania. 
The place was attacked on the 23d of May, Colonel Jones was 
killed and most of his command thrown into confusion, but Cap- 
tain Tifft with his own company and part of Co. I held an ad- 
vanced redoubt long after the rest of the union soldiers had 
fallen back some two miles, until finally discovered by a recon- 
noitering party and relieved. Sergeant A. S. Bryant of Co. A 
was made sergeant-major of the regiment and received a con- 
gressional medal of honor for bravery on this occasion. 

The command sailed for Fortress INIonroe on the 24th of 
June, 1863, reaching there on the 28th, and prepared for a cam- 

{ 215 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

paign under General Dix ; but as that officer did not want troops 
whose term had so nearly expired, it was suggested that the regi- 
ment offer its services during Lee's invasion of the North, This 
was done, and the regiment reported on the 1st of July to Gen- 
eral Schenck at Baltimore. It remained on duty near the city 
until the 6th, when it was ordered to Maryland Heights, served 
there until the 11th, and was then ordered with its brigade to 
join the army of the Potomac near Funkstowu, marching 
twenty-five miles in sixteen hours, almost without a rest. But 
the expected battle did not take place, and when the army of the 
Potomac passed into Virginia in pursuit of the retreating con- 
federates, the Forty-sixth started on the homeward trip, reach- 
ing Springfield July 21, and being mustered out on the 29th. 

Fortunate in having but a single man killed in action, the 
regiment was also favored in that but thirty-five enlisted men 
died of disease, the smallest loss of life of any of the nine-months 
regiments from INIassachusetts with a single exception. 

The Eighth Regiment Infantry. — The Eighth regiment, 
M. V. M., rendered three terms of service during the war of the 
rebellion— the first at the call for three-months regiments in 
1861, the second for nine months in 1862-3, and the third for 100 
days in 1864. Originally an Essex county organization, it was 
necessary at each call to add some outside companies to bring 
the regiment up to the United States standard. At the first call 
the Allen Guards of Pittslield formed one such company, and in 
1862 its Co. H was made up of fifty-two men from Hampden 
county — mostly from Springfield — and forty from Boston. Of 
its officers, Captain George R. Davis and First Lieutenant Wil- 
liam J. Landen were from Springfield. The regiment served in 
the department of North Carolina, being quartered much of the 
time at or near Newbern, but joined the Forty-sixth regiment 
in the expedition to reinforce the army of -the Potomac in July, 
1863, continuing with that army until July 26, when ordered to 
return to Massachusetts for muster out, which took place on the 
7th of August. 

In 1864 Hampden county furnished two companies for the 
regiment— A and H; all of the officers being from Springfield: 

( 216 ) 



THE ^yAK OF 1861-65 

Co. A. — Captain, Lewis A. Tift't; first lieutenant, Gideon 
AYells; second lieutenant, Channcey Hickox. Co. H— Captain, 
William J. Landen ; first lientenant. Charles L. "Wood: second 
lieutenant, John Hunger. 

The regiment left on the 26th of July for Washington, but 
stopped at Baltimore, and remained on duty in and near that 
city until the expiration of its term, returning to Massachusetts 
in time to be mustered out November 10, 

The Forty-second hifanfnj. — The Forty-second regiment, 
which served during the nine-months' term of 1862-3, again 
entered the service in 1864 for 100 days. For this term the or- 
ganization was materially changed and one company (H) from 
Hampden county appeared on the roster, with these of^cers: 

Captain, George H. Stewart of Spring-field ; first lieutenant, 
Julius M. Lyon of "Wales : second lieutenant, Joseph T. Spear of 
Westfield. 

The company was mustered July 16, 1864, the regiment was 
fully organized on the 22d, and two days later sailed for Wash- 
ington. With headquarters at Alexandria, its time was passed 
in guard and patrol duty and the escorting of supply trains to 
the Shenandoah Valley, the regiment being mustered out of 
service November 11, 1864. 

The Third Heavy Ariillery. — This regiment was organized 
as such in the latter part of the year 1864, being composed of 
what had theretofore been known as "Unattached companies" 
of that arm of the service. Of these companies, eight had been 
raised during 1863 and nuistered into the United States service 
for garrisoning the forts on the Massachusetts coast. In the 
spring of 1864 they were ordered by the secretary of war to re- 
port to Washington for duty in the city's defenses, that other 
troops might be relieved to serve with the armies in the field. 
Governor Andrew insisted that the companies should be given a 
regimental organization, and his demand was finally complied 
with, four additional companies being sent forward to complete 
the organization. Of these companies, one (I) was from Hamp- 
den county, entering the service with these officers, only two of 
whom were Hampden county men : 

( 217 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Captain, Johu Pickering of Salem; first lieutenants, Oliver 
J. Bixby and John F. E. Chamberlain, both of Springfield ; sec- 
ond lieutenants, AYilliani F. jNIerrill of Andover and William H. 
Dolliver of Gloucester. Later these were commissioned as sec- 
ond lieutenants: AVilliam Holden and Charles II. Ladd of 
Springfield and ]Morton W. Fowler of Westfield. 

Company I was but nominally a part of the regiment, and 
it had an experience entirely different from the other companies 
of the Third, or any other organization sent from Massachusetts. 
It was mustered at Springfield, February 10, 1864, being origin- 
ally known as the Thirteenth unattached company of heavy artil- 
leiy, and was composed principally of mechanics who had been 
employed in the national armory there. It was sent to Fortress 
Monroe, sailing March 7, and on arrival there was at once placed 
in charge of the pontoon trains of the army of the James by 
Captain F. W. Farquhar, chief engineer of that department. 
The work which devolved upon the men was hard and difficult, 
but it was discharged in a manner to win unqualified praise. 
Among the more notable service of the company was the build- 
ing and maintaining of the pontoon bridges across the Appo- 
mattox, connecting the armies of the James and the Potomac, the 
bridges across the James river used in the frequent crossing of 
the federal armies during the siege of Petersburg, the pontoon 
bridge at Farmville by which the Second and Sixth corps crossed 
in the pursuit of Lee's retreating army, and that across the 
James at Richmond, by which all the union armies crossed on 
their way to AVashington after the close of the war. The com- 
pany also ran captured saw mills, supplying lumber for hos- 
pitals and other purposes, built wharves and roads, and per- 
formed the many other duties devolving upon engineers. The 
company was the last of its regiment to leave the service, being 
mustered out September 26, 1865. 

The Thirtieth Unattached Company Heavy Artillery. — This. 
company was recruited for one year's service, leaving the camp 
at Gallop's Island September 26, 1864. It was almost exclu- 
sively composed of Springfield men, and was thus officered : 

Captain, Samuel R. Bingham of Boston; first lieutenants, 

( 218 ) 



THE ^yAR OF 1861-65 

Morrill Preseott of Springfield and "William W. Jordan of Bos- 
ton; second lieutenant, Samuel F. Siskron of Springfield. 

The company served on guard and garrison duty as directed 
in the defenses of Washington, and was mustered out of service 
June 16, 1865. 

In addition to these organizations which were more or less 
closely identified with the county, Hampden was represented in 
other commands by officers and men of sterling character. Many 
such rendered service to the credit of other states, so that it is an 
impossibility to give names or their number: those credited on 
the official records of Massachusetts are as follows : 

The First Infantry. — Four enlisted men. 

The Second Infantry. Siivgeon, Curtis E. JNIunn of West- 
field ; hospital steward, AVarren A. Root of Springfield ; fifty-one 
enlisted men. 

T]ic Fourth Infantry —1S62-S.— AsshtMit surgeon, Edward 
M. Norton of Blandford. 

The Fifth Infantry — 1864. — Three enlisted men. 

Hie Sixth Infantry— 1861. — Two enlisted men. 

Hie Ninth Infantry.— Fourteen enlisted men. 

Hie Eleventh I)tfantry. — Eleven enlisted men. 

The Twelfth Infantry. Seven enlisted men. 

The Fifteenth Infantry. — Captain, Adoniram J. Bradley of 
Russell : twenty-one enlisted men. 

The Sixteenth I nfantry . — Twenty-one enlisted men. 

The Seventeenth Infantry. — Second lieutenant, Orriu B. 
Cooley of Longmeadow; sixty-five enlisted men (mostly trans- 
ferred from Second H. A.) 

The Nineteenth Infantry. — Fifty-four enlisted men. 

The Ticentieth /;*/'(7»f?-i/.— First-lieutenant, James O'Con- 
nor of Springfield ; seventy-four enlisted men. 

The Twenty-second Infantry. — Twenty -six enlisted men. 

Tlie Twenty-fonrth Infantry.— Firnt lieutenant. Jere Hor- 
ton of Westfield; thirty- three enlisted men. 

The Twenty-fifth Infantry. — ^xteen enlisted men. 

The Twenty-sixth Infantry. — Five enlisted men. 

The Twenty-eighth Infantry. — Thirty-four enlisted men. 

( 219 ) 



OLR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

The Tivenly-ninth Infantry. — Eighteen enlisted men. 
The Thirtieth Infantry.— Sewen enlisted men. 
The Thirty-second Infantry. — '^exenty-thvee enlisted men. 
The Thirty-third Infantry.— Two enlisted men. 
The Forty -fifth Infantry.— Two enlisted men. 
T]ie Forty-ninth Infantry.— Assistant surgeon, Albert R. 
Rice of Springfield ; four enlisted men. 

The Fifty-second Infantry. —Seven enlisted men. 
The Fifty- fourth Infantry. — CsiTptain, Watson W. Bridge of 
Springfield ; seventeen enlisted men. 

The Fifty-fiftli Infantry. — Captain, Robert J. Hamilton of 
Springfield : first lieutenant, Charles W. ]\lntell of Springfield ; 
thirteen enlisted men. 

Tlie Fifty-sixth Infantry.— Assistant surgeon, Jerome E. 
Roberts of Springfield; eighteen enlisted men. 

TJie Fifty-seventh Infantry. — Assistant surgeon, Charles 0. 
Carpenter of Holyoke ; captain, George H. Howe of Monson; 
second lieutenant, John Anderson of Holland ; second lieutenant, 
Henry B. Fiske of Springfield; second lieutenant, George S. 
Greene of Springfield: second lieutenant, Patrick Gilmore of 
West Springfield; 115 enlisted men. 

The Fifty-eighth Infantry.— FAghteen enlisted men. 
The Fifty-ninth Infantry.— Assistant surgeon, Edward W. 
Norton of Blandford ; seven enlisted men. 

The Sixty-first Infantry.— First lieutenant, Albert E. Dan- 
iels of Agawam ; hospital steward, Austin Moody of Westfield ; 
ninety enlisted men. 

TJte First Battery Light ArtiUery.—Three enlisted men. 
The Second Battery Light Artillery. — Three enlisted men. 
The Fifth Battery Light Artillery.— Two enlisted men. 
The Sixth Battery Light Artillery. — Thirteen enlisted men. 
The Seventh Battery Light Artillery.— Fixe enlisted men. 
The Ninth Battery Light Artillery.— Three enlisted men. 
The Tenth Battery Light At'tillery.— Three enlisted men. 
The Eleventh Battery Light Artillery.— Two enlisted men. 
The Tu-elfth Battery Light Artillery.— Sixteen enlisted 
men. 

( 220 ) 



THE ^yAE OF 1861-65 

The Thirtecnih Battery Light Artillcrii. —^ine enlisted 
men. 

Tltc Fourteenth Battery Light Artillery.— "Sine enlisted 
men. 

Tlie Fifteenth Battery Light Artillery.— Xine enlisted men. 

The First Heavy Artillery— Twenty-nine enlisted men. 

The Seeond Heeivy Artillery. — V-A\A-A\n, Ira B. Sampson of 
Springfield; first lieutenant, Sanmol R. Bingham of Westfield; 
first lieutenant. Joseph F. Field of AVestfield ; first lieutenant, 
Alfred H. Kinsley of Springfield ; first lieutenant, Horace L. 
Clark of Springfield ; 282 enlisted men. 

The Fejurth Heavy Artillcry. — YAg\it enlisted men. 

The First Battalion Heavy Ar^Z/kr?/. — Thirty-nine enlisted 
men. 

The Tiventy-ninth Unattached Company Heavy Artillery.— 
Twent.y-two enlisted men. 

The First Cavairi/. — Surgeon, James Holland of Westfield; 
assistant surgeon. Oscar C. DeWolf of Chester; assistant sur- 
geon. Albert R. Rice of Springfield; chaplain, George W. C4or- 
ham of Holyoke ; captain, Myron C. Pratt of Holyoke ; first lieu- 
tenant, Alton E. Phillips of Chicopee : second lieutenant, Hor- 
ace M. Butler of >Springfield ; second lieutenant, George Howe of 
Springfield: second lieutenant, George B. Davis of Springfield; 
quartermaster-sergeant, Vashni H. Pease of Springfield ; hos- 
pital steward, Henry B. Bates of Chicopee; hospital steward, 
Curtis E. Munn of Westfield; chief bugler, Timothy J. Powell 
of Blandford ; sergeant-farrier, Benjamin W. Norris of Spring- 
field ; 270 enlisted men. 

The Second Cavalry. — fiurgeon, Oscar C. DeWolf of Ches- 
ter; surgeon, Elbridge ^I. Johnson of Agawam ; fifty-one enlisted 
men. 

The Third Cavalry. — Firnt lieutenant. Henry S. Adams of 
Chicopee ; second lieutenant. Duett C. Clark of Westfield ; thirty- 
two enlisted men. 

The Fourth Cavalry. — Second lieutenant, Henry M. Phil- 
lips of Springfield ; ninety-seven enlisted men. 

The Fifth Cf/tv//r/y. — Thirty-four enlisted men. 

( 221 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

The Veteraii Reserve Corps. — Eighty-eight enlisted men. 

The Regular Arwji/.— Thirty-two enlisted men. 

Other State Organizations.— l!\\\Y\y-^\Q enlisted men. 
(Nearly all from the eastern tOAvns of the county, for the First 
District of Columbia Infantry.) 

In addition to the above, thirteen other Massachusetts com- 
mands had on their rolls one or more men each from Hampden 
county, so that it will be seen that eighty Massachusetts organ- 
izations had representatives from the county. This does not 
take into account the very large number of those enlisting into 
the troops of other states of which no returns were made to the 
IVIassaehusetts authorities. Could the number of these be even 
approximately estimated it would measurably swell the already 
highly creditable total. 

One fact which will strike even the casual reader is the very 
low proportion of commissions issued to officers from Hampden 
county. This fact may be partially explained by the small rep- 
resentation of the county in the state militia at the outbreak of 
the war. Other factors which must be taken into account are 
the strong political and local pressure brought upon the governor 
for the commissioning of ambitious aspirants in every portion of 
the state and from without the confines of the commonwealth. 
It is not to be supposed that the Hampden soldiers were indiffer- 
ent to the honor embodied in commissions : but the entire history 
of the war period shows first of all an intense patriotic devotion, 
which was willing to waive and sacrifice deserved i-ecognition, 
rather than that the imperilled government of the nation should 
fail to receive the fullest measure of material support. That 
there was no lack of material for efficient commanders within 
the limits of the county is shown by the admirable average main- 
tained by those who received commissions. Among the general 
officers in the national service during the war period there were 
many whom Hampden county might .iustly claim as her direct 
representatives, and whose service was well worth having, as will 
be seen from the following verv brief sketches. 



( 222 ) 



THE ^yAIl OF 1861-65 



GENERAL OFFICERS 



Brevet Major-Geiteral Jauies Barnes of Springfield gradu- 
ated at the military academy, West Point, in the class of 1829. 
He passed a year there as assistant instructor, took part in the 
Black Hawk expedition of 1832, and during the nullification con- 
troversy soon after was stationed in Charleston harbor. He then 
returned to West Point as assistant instructor, resigning after 
three years" service. He became noted as civil engineer and a 
builder of railroads, and was engaged in large business enter- 
prises when the war broke out. But nothing could stand be- 
tween him and the service of his country in its hour of need, and 
on the 26th of July, 1861, he was commissioned colonel of the 
Eighteenth ^Massachusetts infantry. He commanded his regi- 
ment with great ability till after the close of the Peninsular cam- 
paign, when he succeeded to the command of Martindale's brig- 
ade of the Fifth corps, and, dating from November 29, 1862, was 
promoted to brigadier-general of volunteers. He commanded 
this brigade during the Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancel- 
lorsville campaigns, and at Gettysburg had risen to command 
the First division. Fifth corps. Leading his forces to the relief 
of Sickles' corps near the close of the second day's fighting, he 
was wounded and did not again return to active duty in the 
field. He was assigned to the command of the defenses of Nor- 
folk. Ya., then of St. Mary's district, and finally of the encamp- 
ment of confederate prisoners at Point Lookout, J\Id., where he 
remained until the close of the war, receiving his brevet rank of 
major-general of volunteers to date from March 13, 1865. He 
remained in commission till January 15, 1866, when he was mus- 
tered out and returned to his home, but never regained his 
health, dying there on the 12th of February, 1869. 

Brevet Brigadier-General Robert E. Clary, a native of 
Springfield. Avas appointed from Massachusetts to the military 
academy at West Point in 1823, graduating July 1, 
1828, when he was commissioned a second lieutenant. 
He served in various portions of the country, rising in 
rank, until the opening of the rebellion found him a 

( 223 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

staff inajoi- and chief (iiuirteniiaster of the department of Utah. 
His service Avas principally in the quartermaster's department, 
and he Avas chief qnartennaster of the department of West Vir- 
ginia fi'om November. 1861, to July, 1862, then of the army of 
Virginia under General Pope, then of the department of the 
Northwest to the 20th of March, 1863. He then served in the 
quartermaster-general's office at Washington till August 24, 
1864. when he was placed in charge of the Memphis depot, where 
he remained till the close of the war. He was commissioned 
lieutenant-colonel in the regular line April 15, 1864, colonel July 
29, 1866, and was retired February 22, 1869, being over sixty- 
tAvo years of age. He was brevetted brigadier-general from the 
loth of March, 1865, on account of faithful and meritorious ser- 
vices during the rebellion. 

Brigadier-General ^yilliam Dwifjlit was born at Springfield 
in 1831, entered a military school at West Point, N. Y., at the 
age of 15, and afterward studied at the military academy there, 
which he left before graduation to enter manufacturing business. 
AA^hen the war broke out, being then at Philadelphia, he offered 
his services to the government, and May 14, 1861, was commis- 
sioned as a captain in the Fourteenth U. S. infantry. On the 
organization of the Seventieth New York infantry. Col. Daniel 
E. Sickles, Captain Dwight was commissioned as second in com- 
mand, and on the promotion of Sickles to brigadier was commis- 
sioned as colonel. He led his regiment with great gallantry at 
the battle of Williamsburg, May 6, 1862, where he received three 
wounds, being disabled and made prisoner, but was left in hos- 
pital on parole. After exchange and recovery he was made 
brigadier-general of volunteers from November 29, 1862, and 
soon afterward joined the forces of General Banks in Louisiana. 
He commanded a brigade of the Nineteenth corps in the opera- 
tions against Port Hudson, and served on the commission to set- 
tle the terms of surrender. At the Ked Kiver campaign of the 
succeeding spring he Avas made chief of staff to General Banks. 
Accompanying that portion of his corps sent north in the sum- 
mer of 1864, he commanded the First division during its opera- 
tions in the Shenandoah valley, continuing in the ser\nce until 

( 224 ) 



TEE ^^AR OF 1861-65 

January 15, 1866, Avlieii he was mustered out after almost five 
years of highly honorable service. 

Brevet Major-General Oliver Eehvards of Springfield en- 
tered the service as adjutant of tlie Tenth infantry, but was soon 
detailed as senior aide on the staff of Gen. Darius N. Couch, com- 
manding the division, in which capacity he served with distinc- 
tion till early August, 1862, when he was commissioned major 
and directed to organize the Thirty-seventh infantry, of which 
he was made colonel. He made of his regiment one of the best 
disciplined and most effective in the army of the Potomac. On 
the 9th of May, 1864, he took command of his brigade, which he 
led with distinction till July 6, 1864, when it was consolidated 
with another brigade, of which he was made commander. With 
this force he fought at Fort Stevens and the Opequan in the 
campaign against General Early. At the latter battle he com- 
manded the First division, Sixth corps, after the death of Gen- 
eral Russell and the wounding of General Upton, and in recog- 
nition of his services on that occasion he was made post com- 
mandant at Winchester, with his brigade and some other troops 
as garrison. This position he retained for some time after the 
return of the Sixth corps to the army of the Potomac, and was 
oifered by General Sheridan the position of provost marshal- 
general on his staff ; but Edwards preferred the command of his 
old brigade, to which, at his special request, he was returned in 
February, 1865. In the assault of April 2, 1865, on the lines at 
Petersburg, his brigade took an important part, being the first to 
break through the confederate works, and the next morning he 
received from the mayor of Petersberg the surrender of the city, 
very soon after its evacuation by General Lee. For his services 
at this time he received the commission of brigadier-general of 
volunteers, to date from May 19, having been brevetted for his 
gallantry at Opequan, and in the sharp fight at Sailor's Creek, 
April 6, he won the brevet of major-general. He remained in 
the service until January 15, 1866, Avhen he was honorably dis- 
charged. 

Major-General Erasmus Daricin Kcyes was a native of 
Brimfield, where he was born in 1810, was appointed from Maine 

15-1 ( 225 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

to the military academy at AVest Point, from which he graduated 
in 1832. His service up to the outbreak of the rebellion had 
been varied, and at that time he was military secretary for Gen- 
eral Scott. He was commissioned colonel of the Eleventh U. S. 
infantry, May 14, 1861. three days later was made brigadier- 
general of volunteers, and was for a time engaged at Boston and 
New York in the duties of raising, equipping and forwarding 
troops. He returned to AA^ashington, however, in time to com- 
mand a brigade at the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861. In 
the organization of the army of the Potomac for the campaign of 
1862 he was made commander of the Fourth corps, and was com- 
missioned major-general of volunteers from the 5th of May. He 
shared in the operations against Yorktown, and after the battle 
of AVilliamsburg led the advance up the Peninsula. It was upon 
his corps that the weight of the confederate attack fell at the 
battle of Fail' Oaks, May 31, and for his gallant part in that 
action he received the brevet of brigadier-general in the regular 
army. On the withdrawal of the army of the Potomac from the 
Peninsula, General Keyes was left in conauaud at Yorktown, and 
in the temporary absence of General Dix was in command of the 
department of Virginia. In July, 1863, he was placed on the 
board for retiring amiy officei-s, where he served until May 6, 
1864, when he resigned his commissions and returned to civil life. 
Brevet Brigadier-General Ealph W . Kirkham was born at 
Springfield, graduated at West Point in the class of 1842, and 
was commissioned second lieutenant of the Second U. S. infantry. 
He served as adjutant of that regiment during the war with 
Mexico, being brevetted first lieutenant and captain for gallant 
conduct, and was wounded at the battle of Molino del Rey. In 
the interval between the Mexican war and the rebellion he served 
at various posts as assistant adjutant-general or quartermaster, 
and in the spring of 1861 was stationed at Fort AValla AValla in 
Washington territory with the rank of captain. He was chief 
quartermaster of the department of the Pacific from August 31, 
1861. to June, 1865, and of the department of California from 
that time onward. He received the commission of major Feb- 
ruary 26. 1863, and dating from March 13. 1865, brevets of lieu- 

( 326 ) 




C5C eb?^ ■ 



Brevet Brigadier-General Horace C. Lee 
Colonel Twenty-Seventh Massachusetts Infantry Volunteers 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

tenant-colonel, colonel, and biigadier-general, "for faithful and 
meritorious services in the quartermaster's department during 
the rebellion." He resigned his commission February 11, 1870. 
Brevet Brigadier-General Horaee C. Lee was city clerk and 
treasurer of Springfield at the opening of the war, and had sev- 
eral years before risen to the rank of colonel and acting brigadier 
in the state militia. In August, 1861, he was offered the lieuten- 
ant-colonelcy of the Twenty-first infantry, then being organized, 
and on going to Boston to accept the otfer was given permission 
to raise one of the five regiments just authorized. He organized 
the Twenty-seventh infantry, which he ably commanded until 
July 4, 1862, M^hen he took command of the brigade, leading it in 
the Trenton, Tarboro and Goldsboro expeditions, and winning 
praise for the able handling of his troops in repulsing General 
Clingman's attack at the latter engagement. He was recom- 
mended by General Foster for promotion to the rank of brigadier- 
general of volunteers, but the commission was not issued on ac- 
count of the large number already given to Massachusetts officers. 
When General Burnside left North Carolina to take command of 
the army of the Potomac, Colonel Lee was appointed provost 
marshal-general of North Carolina, and later of the department 
of Virginia and North Carolina, and acted in that capacity until 
the office was abolished by General Butler in January, 1864. He 
then served upon commissions and courts-martial till the opening 
of the campaign in May following, when he resumed command of 
his regiment, leading it at Walthal Junction, Arrowfield Church 
and Drewry's Bluif. In the latter engagement he was made 
prisoner Avith a large portion of his command, and was confined 
at Libby Prison and at Macon, Ga. From the latter place he 
was removed June 10, and with many other union officers was 
placed under the fire of the federal batteries at Charleston, S. C. 
Being exchanged August 2, 1864, he went north on a month's 
furlough, but returned to Fortress INIunroe in time to intercept 
his regiment, then under orders for North Carolina, and procured 
the return to Massachusetts of those whose time was about to 
expire. He was mustered out with them. September 27, 1864, 
and for meritorious service received a well-deserved brevet of 

( 228 ) 



THE ^yAE OF 1861-65 

brigadier-general of volunteers, dating from March 13. 1865. 
He served four years in the Boston custom house, and twelve 
years as postmaster of Springfield, dying June 22. 1884, soon 
after vacating the latter office. 

THE soldier's REST 

From the earliest days of the great contest the non-military 
population of the county — men for any reason unable to enter 
military service, women, and even children— were earnest and 
zealous in their ministrations in behalf of the soldiers. Here as 
elsewhere throughout the country this devotion manifested itself 
in countless ways — in the preparation of comforts and conven- 
iences for the soldiers as they left their homes for temporary 
encampments, and as these were quitted in turn for the more 
active duties of the service : in loving messages and cheering 
words, mingled with material remembrances, sent to the absent 
ones; in ministrations to the sick, the wounded, and the needy, 
as the tide of war rolled on and filled the country with unfortu- 
nates. To the people of Hampden county, and especially of 
Springfield and its vicinity, the work of the latter class grew in 
importance and in volume with the passing months. The geo- 
graphical situation of the city was such that most of the return- 
ing soldiers from Vermont, New Hampshire, central and western 
Massachusetts, with not a few from northern New York, from the 
eastern portion of Massachusetts and from Maine, went through 
by train, frequently stopping for hours within the city limits. 

The summer of 1863 witnessed the return from service of the 
nine-months' regiments, many of their members suffering from 
disease or wounds, and following the great battles of that year, 
especially those of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, the number 
of wounded and otherwise disabled was immensely increased. A 
commission of young men had been organized in the city in 1862, 
for the purpose of sending supplies and assistance to the front. 
It was officered by F. A. Brewer as president, Charles Marsh as 
secretary, and Henry S. Lee as treasurer, associated with whom 
were numbers of others, equally devoted and earnest. In doing 
the work for Avhich the organization was effected they had ren- 

( 329 ) 



OUK COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

dered valuable service to the nation and to their friends; but they 
now realized that a bi'oader and grander service was demanded 
of them in their own city. At all hours of the day and night sick 
and wounded soldiers were passing- thi'ough, often sadly in need 
of refreshment, care, and nursing, f(n- which there were no ade- 
quate facilities. To realize was to act. and early in August, 
1863, a small wooden building had been secured and fitted up on 
Kailroad street, close to the union depot. This was very appro- 
priately named "The Soldiers' Rest," and for nine or ten months 
it served admirably the purpose for which it was intended. But 
the terrible campaigns of 1864 filled all the hospitals of the 
country to overflowing, and a vastly increased number were sent 
into New England. To meet the demand thus created, a larger 
building was erected, permanent attendants were secured, and a 
hospital department, well ecpiipped in every way, was provided. 
Up to November, 1864, 9,243 soldiers had been cared for. There 
was no slackening in the demands made upon the Rest, but the 
raising of the necessary funds to carry on the work had become a 
serious problem. The gift of a quantity of produce from some 
Vermont farmers, however, suggested the idea of a fair at the 
Springfield city hall. This was planned on a broad scale by a 
strong committee of the leading men and Avomen of the city, with 
the wife of Gen. James Barnes as president. It was held during 
four days of the week, beginning Monday, December 19. 1864, 
and proved successful beyond the most sanguine expectations. 
Governor Andrew and staff were present the second evening, and 
enthusiasm ran high during the entire period. When the final 
footings were made, it Avas shown that the net proceeds reached 
the handsome total of about $19,000, and this by judicious invest- 
ment yielded in interest and profit upward of $11,000 more. Not 
all of the credit for this magnificent showing should, however, be 
given to Springfield. Other communities co-operated, and nearly 
all of the towns of the county were represented at the fair and in 
the work of the Rest, in some degree. 

The unexpectedly generous result of the undertaking pro- 
vided ample funds for continuing the work of the Soldiers' Rest, 
Avhich was carried on with unabated zeal during the remainder of 

( 230 ) 



THE ^yAR OF 1861-65 

the war period — fortunately but a few mouths—and until the 
disbandment of the union armies, and the return of the soldiers 
to their homes. AA'hen the building was no longer required for 
its original purposes, it was sold and removed to Loring street in 
the same city, Avhere quite appropriately it was adapted as a 
church building for one of the religious societies of colored peo- 
ple, and was thus occupied for thirty years. Meantime, through 
the agency of a permanent organization, the balance of the fund 
was employed for the relief of needy soldiers and their dependent 
ones, until the organization of E. K. Wilcox Post of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, by which that class of work was taken up 
and carried on. Up to this time it appeared that not less than 
17,000 persons had been ministered to, with a total expenditure 
of over $80,000. 

A considerable sum still remaining in the hands of the trus- 
tees, it was decided to invest the same in a "soldiers' lot" of gen- 
erous size in the Springfield cemetery, and to mark the spot by an 
appropriate monument. For the latter purpose the war depart- 
ment made a donation of condemned brass cannon, but a very 
satisfactory monument being purchased complete, the cannon 
were used as an additional decoration for the lot, which is now 
filled to almost its full capacity with the graves of those whom, as 
the years have rolled on, it has given a welcome and appropriate 
place of sepulture. 

Thus was admirably shown by the people of Hampden coun- 
ty, primarily their intense patriotic devotion, Avhich did not 
shrink from any necessary sacrifice of personal service or of 
financial contribution, that "the government estal)lished by the 
fathers" should not be overthrown; and secondarily that sympa- 
thy and tenderness of heart which was ready to make supplemen- 
tal sacrifices, with an equal heroism and an equal devotion, in 
order that so far as possible the horrors of war might be miti- 
gated, the needy and the suffering be tenderly eared for, and, 
when the march of life was ended, appropriate burial be insured. 
Thus was the full measure of patriotic purpose, of unsAverving 
fidelity, of tireless consecration, given by these people, the 
memory of whose noble deeds shall ever be cherished as a precious 
heritage. 

( 231 ) 



CHAPTER XVI 

EDUCATION IN HAMPDEN COUNTY 
BY JAMES CARRUTHERS GREENOUGH. LL. D. 

The word education is used to denote two things— an end to 
be gained and the means to gain it. Education, as an end, has 
been defined, the realization of ideal manhood. Education, as a 
means, includes all that tends to promote that end. Physical 
environment and social environment are means of education as 
well as the specific means employed in schools. 

Hampden county, extending from the heights of the Appala- 
chian system on the west, across the broad valley of the Connecti- 
cut to the central highlands of the State on the east, includes 
almost every variety of scenery furnishing varied conditions of 
educational culture. 

The dwellers among the hills on the west and on the east, 
from the times of the early settlers, have been a sturdy yeomanry 
of marked individuality, accustomed to reach conclusions by their 
own thought, and to hold them tenaciously, as men are accus- 
tomed to hold that which is their own. Gaining their livelihood 
by felling the forests and working their hillside farms, their con- 
tact with nature under typical conditions of New England life 
tended to make them typical New England men— men patient 
and truthful in thought, courageous in action, and ever respon- 
sive to moral ideals. Those reared in the country homes of the 
county have maintained from generation to generation the sturdy 
virtues of their ancestors, while many making homes elsewhere 
have sustained by their thought and energy the worthy enter- 
prises of other communities. 

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EDUCATION 

The broad Connecticut valley dividing the county, with allu- 
vial meadows bordered by extensive plains, gives opportunity for 
easy communication. In this section the manufacturing and 
allied interests seem destined more and more to eclipse the agri- 
cultural, though the meadows of the Connecticut are far famed 
for their productiveness and are justly styled the garden of New 
England. The dominating center of this valley section is the 
rapidly growing city of Springfield. The superior public schools 
and other educational advantages render this city peculiarly 
attractive as a place of residence, though some prefer for a home 
the younger city, Chicopee, or the outlying villages of Long- 
meadow, West Springfield, and Agawam. The public schools of 
Springfield maintain a standard of excellence to which all other 
schools in the valley aspire. 

The sons and daughters of hill-town farmers have readily 
availed themselves of the opportunities of the valley schools, and 
no students have more merited distinction in our higher insti- 
tutions, whether in the academies, or later, in the high schools 
and in the State Normal school at Westfield. The recent laws of 
the state have made the high schools of larger communities avail- 
able to pupils from towns too small to maintain secondary schools 
of high grade. Those in every part of the county may now 
advance from the primary school, through all the grades of tlie 
public schools to college or other higher institutions with well 
nigh equal freedom. 

In the valley section of the county, social life has received a 
development under conditions more favorable than those in the 
more sparsely populated sections ; but the extension of steam and 
trolley lines, and the improvement of highways are so facilitating 
communication, that social and educational advantages are less 
and less limited by the boundaries of towns and the locality of 
one's home. Towns unable alone to employ skilled superintend- 
ents of schools are grouped in districts. The schools of each 
district are put in charge of a superintendent in part paid by the 
state. These superintendents, with the generous co-operation of 
school committees, are doing much to help schools in the smaller 
towns to keep pace with the schools of like grade in larger towns. 

( 233 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

If we study the beginnings of the common schools of our 
State and county we are led to notice causes operating before the 
settlement of ]\Iassachusetts. 

The reformation under Luther transferred the authority of 
deciding religious questions in Protestant communities from the 
church and the priesthood to the individual, as taught by the 
Word of (Jod. and enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Calvin em- 
phasized this view, and urged the necessity and the religious duty 
of the intellectual as well as the religious culture of all, that each 
might be able to interpret the Bible for himself. Calvinism 
found full expression in the earlier churches of Massachusetts. 
The maintenance of public schools, our Puritan ancestors con- 
sidered a religious duty. The church and the school were coun- 
terparts, each of the other. 

The horn book and the New England primer were the text 
books of the primary or dame school, as it was called, in early 
colonial times. This primer is a remarkable medley of the 
alphabet, "easy syllables," rude rhymes setting forth Bible 
events illustrated by what now seem ludicrous wood cuts, Bible 
quotations, followed by verses full of solemn and direful admoni- 
tions respecting death and hell, and much religious counsel. The 
primer also contains that elaborate compend of theological wis- 
dom—The Assembly's shorter catechism— a title in contrast 
with the time spent in memorizing its statements. The boys at 
suitable age were transferred to the master's or grammar school, 
where those who wished could be made ready for Harvard col- 
lege, by reading, spelling, writing, working dictated problems on 
their slates, and much wearisome plodding in Latin grammar. 

The girls, for the most part having completed their schooling 
when they left the dame school, entered upon their practical 
training in spinning, weaving, and other departments of house- 
wifery. The public schools were supervised by the ministers, 
who were quite as ready to test the theological and the biblical 
knowledge of the pupils as their secular knowledge. Boys had 
an added motive for attending to the long doctrinal sermon on 
Sunday, in the fact that the minister might visit the school on 
Monday and question them about it. 

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EDUCATION 

The coming into the colonies of men of different religious be- 
liefs at length abated the religions zeal in the maintenance of 
public schools. The Indian and the French wars exhausted 
funds, which in part, at least, would in more peaceful times have 
been used to strengthen the schools. Poverty seemed to furnish 
some reasonable excuse for non-compliance with the statute of 
1647, requiring the maintenance of elementary, and of grammar 
schools the embrj'o high schools of the time. Yet the school laws 
were not to be ruthlessly disregarded. Towns in our county, 
as well as in other counties, were sunnnoned to court to answer 
for their delinquencies. In 1769. Wales was fined for not main- 
taining a grammar school. Three years earlier, Brimfield suf- 
fered a like penalt^v for a similar neglect. 

The tendency to disregard the authority of the state led to 
the decentralization of the school system. By the laAvs of 1789 
towns were allowed to divide their areas into school districts. 
AVliile this district system seemed to be in the interest of local 
government and seemed to encourage local effort, it hastened the 
decline of the common school. It relieved the towns from re- 
sponsibility in the conduct of the schools, and too often lodged 
it in irresponsible hands. The work of administrative disintegra- 
tion went on. In 1800, the raising of money by tax for the 
support of schools was conferred upon the several districts ; in 
1817, the school districts were made corporations ; and in 1827, 
the whole matter of selecting and hiring teachers and the man- 
agement of the schools was conferred upon the districts, save that 
the town committee was to examine candidates presented by the 
prudential committees of the districts and decide the fitness of 
these candidates for the position of teacher. This examination 
usually occurred just before the opening of the winter and spring 
terms of the schools, and as only those were examined who had 
been selected by the committees in the several districts, the town 
committee must approve the candidates, or practically close the 
schools for a time. The examination was usually short, and 
teachers of very inferior quality frequently found their way 
into the schools. The continued decline of the common schools 
was inevitable. The half century covering the period between 

( 235 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

1789 and 1839 has been termed the "Dark Age" of our common 
schools. 

However depressed the condition of the common schools, ow- 
ing to the poverty and disorder incident to the revolutionary war, 
however culpable the neglect of the common schools, and however 
unworthy of the high aims of the original founders, the people of 
Massachusetts never lost sight of the true moral function of 
every school. When the war was over and the national govern- 
ment was established under our present constitution, the people 
of Massachusetts, through their legislature by the act of 1789, 
laid the educational cornerstone of the civil fabric in these 
words : 

' ' It shall be the duty of the president, professors and tutors 
of the University of Cambridge and of the several colleges, of all 
preceptors and teachers of academies, and of all other instructors 
of youth, to exert their best endeavors to impress on the minds of 
children and youth committed to their care and instruction, the 
principles of piety and justice, and a sacred regard to truth; 
love of their country, humanity, and universal benevolence; 
sobriety, industry and frugality : chastity, moderation and tem- 
perance : and those other virtues which are the ornament of 
human society and the basis upon which a republican constitu- 
tion is founded ; and it shall be the duty of such instructors to 
endeavor to lead their pupils, as their ages and capacities will 
admit, into a clear understanding of the tendency of the above- 
mentioned virtues to preserve and perfect a republican consti- 
tution, and secure the blessings of liberty as well as to promote 
their future happiness, and also to point out to them the evil 
tendencies of the opposite vices. ' ' 

Aswehave already noticed, the common schools of our county, 
as well as of other parts of the state, in the second century of our 
history, were unworthy of a people really prizing education and 
inadequate to the needs of children, both in the quantity and the 
quality of the instruction provided. Secondary schools,— the 
grammar schools yet remaining,— with a few worthy exceptions, 
were diminishing in number and declining in excellence. '1 he 
statutes requiring their maintenance were graduallj^ so relaxed 

( 236 ) 



EDUCATION 

that early in the nineteenth century only seven towns \^-.-re re- 
quired to maintain them. As in the darkness ot the Middle 
Ages in Europejearning was still cherished by the clergy, so dur- 
ing the eighteenth century and later, the ministers of the churches 
in New England encouraged the youth in their parishes to strug- 
gle on toward college, and often became their private instructors 
in preparatory Latin and Greek. The work of a minister in our 
smaller towns was no sinecure. If he would supplement his 
narrow stipend so as to provide for his family, he must till the 
parish land ; if he would care for the people over whom he had 
been settled as a pastor for life, he must not only prepare his two 
weekly sermons, but must visit from house to house and acquaint 
himself with the religious condition and progress of his people 
individually ; and if he would be instrumental in raising up 
young men who would fill the pulpits and become intellectual and 
spiritual leaders, he must encourage and aid promising youth in 
their endeavors to .equip themselves with the learning of the 
college. Country ministers were farmers, preachers, pastors and 
teachers. For maintaining the standards of religion according 
to their convictions, of truth as they apprehended it, and of 
sound learning as they knew and loved it, we owe the early min- 
isters of New England a debt of lasting gratitude. 

Referring again to the low state of the common schools we may 
quote the words of Rev. Dr. Cooley, so long a forceful illustration 
of the value to a town of such a minister as we have attempted to 
describe. He says, speaking of the condition of the schools in 
1777, when he began his school life, ' ' The only school books were 
Dillworth's spelling book, the primer and the Bible. The fur- 
niture, as I recollect, was a chair for the master, a long hickory 
and a ferule. Reading, spelling, a few of the business rules of 
arithmetic, the catechism and writing legibly, was the amount of 
school education for sons ; and for daughters, still less. The lux- 
ury of a slate and pencil I never enjoyed till I entered college. 
Previous to 1796," he adds, "no academy existed in Western 
Massachusetts, except a well endowed institution at Williams- 
town." Alluding to his own teaching while a parish minister, 
he said : "Probably as many as eight hundred have been under 

( 237 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

my tnition, and as many as sixty or seventy have entered the 
ministry." Very few New England ministers had as long a pas- 
torate and labors as manifold as those of Dr. Cooley of Gran\411e : 
but in his life we have a type of the New England ministry. 

AVe now notice an edneational movement at first evidently 
adverse to the improvement of the common school, bnt ultimately 
an etfective agency in revolutionizing it. Unable to secure for 
children suitable and sufficient instruction in the common school, 
parents and friends of education by private benefactions began 
to found other schools. 

As early as 1761. William Dummer left b}^ will his house and 
farm in Newbury. INlass., for the establishment of a free school. 
In 1782 the school was incorporated under the name of Dummer 
academy. This was the first school in the state that bore the 
name of academy. As soon as the revolutionary struggle, with 
its long years of devastation, discord and discouragement, was 
over, the people of INlassachusetts, like the people of Prussia, 
after the downfall of Napoleon, began to legislate for the future. 
They were not ignorant of the wretched condition of most of the 
common schools, and by enactments provided for a broader range 
of studies and a somewhat better administration. But there was 
then too nnich poverty and too nuich rural conservatism to allow 
of any general improvement in the schools. The district system, 
with its petty politics, purblind narrowness, and penurious ap- 
propriations, was destined to work its evils for another genera- 
tion. Those who prized education could not then uplift the 
public schools. With no little personal sacrifice, they founded 
academies. In 1797, the policy of aiding towns and individuals 
in establishing academies was inaugurated. A common form of 
aid was a grant of state land in the District of Maine. The co- 
operation of the state accelerated the founding of academies. 
Several were founded not far from the time of the founding of 
Westfield academy, which was dedicated in 1800. Before 1840, 
one hundred and twelve acts of incorporation had been enacted 
by the legislature, providing for academies in eighty-eight towns. 
Six academies have been located in Hampden county. Of these, 
Westfield academy was the oldest, and for half a century the 

( 238 ) 



EDUCATION 

most noted. We shall speak more specifically of these academies 
hereafter. 

These academies secured permanent teachers of tine scholar- 
ship and generous culture. They were, with very few exceptions, 
men and women of earnest Christian purpose who encouraged, 
and themselves engaged in distinctive religious efforts that might 
have been thought out of place in a public school. If these 
teachers did not introduce new and better methods of teaching, 
they taught with a thoroughness not to be expected in the district 
schools. While special attention was given to completing the 
studies of the connnon school, a goodly number of elective studies, 
now included in high school courses, was taught. These acad- 
emies furnished the connecting steps between the common school 
and the college; they re-enforced the colleges with young men 
better fitted for college work, and thus gave new life to the col- 
leges. The academies co-operated with the colleges in bringing 
forward men whose influence was of untold value in promoting 
public instruction : they nourished a sentiment in favor of better 
common schools : and they led the people to form higher ideals 
of teachers, and of teaching. While it must be admitted that 
academies, for a time, so centered attention upon themselves that 
the common schools seemed more neglected than ever, we are 
indebted to these institutions for educating men and women 
whose influence and whose eff'orts at length secured a great 
advance in the administration of public schools, and in the 
methods of instruction. The first master of Dummer academy 
helped to educate fifteen members of congress, two chief justices 
of the Supreme court, a president of Harvard college, and sev- 
eral college professors. Monson and Westfield and Wesleyan 
academies, and others within the limits of Hampden county, had 
a like honorable record. Academies were the training schools for 
teachers of the common schools before the establishment of nor- 
mal schools. Many of these teachers must have tried to intro- 
duce into their schools the finer motives and the gentler methods 
which they had known in the academies, in place of the rude 
rigors then in vogue in district schools. Many of them lived to 
see a ncAv era in the history of the common schools. 

( 239 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

AVe have seen that the immediate effect of the rise of acad- 
emies was to center the attention of those who most appreciated 
good schools upon the academies, and to withdraw from the com- 
mon schools that interest and that generous support which were 
essential to their welfare. Academies tended in times more dem- 
ocratic even than our oaa^i, to separate the children of those hav- 
ing a competenc}^ from the children of the poor. The former 
could enjoy the advantages of an academy; the latter were too 
generally obliged to content themselves with the meagre oppor- 
tunities of the common school. The passing away of the colonial 
grammar schools, and the decadence, or rather lack of progress, 
of the common schools, had made private schools and academies 
a necessity. Their success tended to leave the common schools 
uncared for. But there was a growing persuasion that the com- 
mon schools were failing to secure the ends for which they were 
established, and were unworthy of an intelligent people. 

The eighth annual report of the board of education, written 
by William G. Bates, of Westfield, one of the earlier mem- 
bers of the board, contains a paragraph that Avell summarizes the 
disadvantages to the common schools, arising from the mainte- 
nance of private schools. We quote the paragraph : 

' ' But whatever may have been the cause of the establishment 
of private schools, the effect of their establishment has been most 
disastrous upon the interests of common school education. By 
increasing the expense of education, without proportionately 
improving its quality ; by draAving off to the private schools the 
best of the teachers; by depriving the common schools of their 
best scholars, and thus robbing them of a bright example, the 
best incentive to diligence; by Avithdrawing from them the care 
and sympathy of the most intelligent part of the population ; by 
taking away from the patrons of these private institutions the 
motive to swell the amount of the appropriations for the support 
of common schools ; by degrading the common school from its just 
estimation in the minds of the community, to an institution 
where only those are sent whose parents are too poor or too 
neglectful to pay a proper regard to their condition ; by fostering 
that feeling of jealousy which will always spring up between 

( 240 ) 



EDUCATION 

persons of antaiionistic interests; by instilling into the mind of 
the youthful student a feeling' of inferiority : by pointing him to 
a fellow student born inider the laws of his country to the same 
destiny, yet in the enjoyment of superior intellectual advantages ; 
and by dissolving that community of feeling which should ever 
be consecrated to this great cause, they have done an injury to 
our common school system, which their discontinuance only can 
repair. ' ' 

The first quarter of the nineteenth century had hardly closed 
ere the thick gloom that had long settled upon elementary schools, 
both in Europe and America, began to yield to the dawn of a 
brighter day. Pestalozzi, in Germany and in Switzerland, with 
his co-laborers and pupils, and Bell and Lancaster, in England, 
had begun a great movement in the educational world. To this 
the friends of popular education in Massachusetts were the first 
in America to respond. "To James Carter, of Lancaster, Mass.," 
it has been said, "belongs the honor of first attracting attention 
to the decadence of the public schools, the extent of it, the cause 
of it, and the remedy for it." The. result of his Avritings, his 
addresses, his work in the legislature, seconded by Gov. EdAvard 
Everett, Josiah Quincy, and others, was the creation of a school 
fund in 1834, and of a board of education in 1837. At the first 
meeting of this board in June, Horace Mann was chosen secre- 
tary. On the evening of the day of his apponitment he made 
this entry in his private journal, "Henceforth, so long as I hold 
this office. I dedicate myself to the supremest welfare of man 
upon earth." His work of the next twelve years proved the 
genuineness of this self -dedication. Supervisor Martin has well 
said of him in his valuable book, ' ' Evolution of the Massachusetts 
Public School System": "He fought the battle of educational 
reform in ^Massachusetts through to the end, and conquered. A 
pathetic indifference, hide-bound conservatism, niggardly parsi- 
mony, sectarian bigotry, and political animosity surged around 
him as the enemies of France surged around the white plume of 
Henry of Navarre ; but he left the field so clear, that since his 
day none of these reactionary forces, singly or combined, has 
made any successful opposition to the on-going movements of the 
cause of popular education." 

16-1 ( 241 ) 



OVE COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Ten years before the appointment of the board of education. 
Mr. Carter, in the Massachusetts legislature, came within one 
vote of securing an appropriation for a school for the training 
of teachers. The plan was not realized until Edmund Dwight. 
belonging to a worthily honored family of Springfield, but then 
a resident of Boston, employed his money and his influence to 
establish normal schools. We are also indebted to Mr. Dwight, 
with others, for the development of the cotton mills of Chicopee 
and Holyoke. Well informed respecting educational aft'airs in 
his own state and in Europe, Mr. Dwight was wisely chosen one 
of the original members of the board of education. He was 
keenly aware of the need of trained teachers for the public 
schools, and offered to give $10,000 for the training of teachers 
in normal schools, provided the legislature would appropriate 
an equal sum. By the resolves of April 19, 1838, the legislature 
appropriated the additional $10,000. 

The first normal schools in America were opened in 1839,— 
one in Lexington and one in Barre. The latter, in 1844, found a 
permanent home in Westfield. It is a lasting honor to our coun- 
ty that within its limits was the early home of the man whose 
influence and whose munificence resulted in founding the first 
state normal schools on this continent. Later, Mr. Dwight, by 
the gift of $1,000, made it possible for Mr. Mann, under the 
direction of the board of education, to inaugurate a system of 
teachers' institutes. 

The value of the Westfield and other State Normal schools — 
the value of the institutes, which have been termed the "flying 
artillery of the normal school, "—in improving the schools of the 
county and of the state can hardly be over-estimated. The 
Westfield school in a tew years won a national reputation. Nor- 
mal schools have developed new and better methods of teaching, 
nourished professional enthusiasm, led to a higher appreciation 
of teaching, helped teachers to form higher ideals and through 
their influence on the schools have proved that they are essential 
to any well ordered system of public instruction. 

So far as the public schools improved, so far tliere was less 
need of academies. The development of manufacturing industries, 

( 242 ) 



E DC CAT ION 

bring^ing people together in villages and cities, led to the erection 
of larger and more suitable school buildings, the grading of 
pupils, and the permanent employment of excellent teachers. 

As townsincreased in population, theybecame able to maintain 
high schools, and they were especially disposed to do this in local- 
ities where academies failed to furnish the needed opportunities 
for secondary instruction. As early as 1821, the city of Boston 
established a free English High school. In 1826, the legisla- 
ture, which in previous sessions had seemed to care little for 
secondary schools, enacted a law requiring that high schools 
should be maintained in towns having five hundred families ; but 
the opposition to this measure, of those interested in the pros- 
perity of academies, and of several towns in Avhich a high school 
could not be located so as to easily accommodate pupils from all 
parts of the town, soon secured the repeal of the effective clauses 
of the law. After experiencing various vicissitudes, being re- 
enacted in 1836, practically set aside in 1840, and again re-enact- 
ed and improved in 1848, the higli schools law, mainly as it now 
is, became the permanent expression of the will of the people of 
the commonwealth. 

In 1838 there were very few high schools in the State. From 
this time to 1860. fifty more were added. From 1860 to 1875, 
ninety more were established. In 1900, the whole number of 
high schools in the state was two hundred and sixty-one. In 
twenty-three towns, academies, most of them on an early founda- 
tion, serve as high schools. High schools include nearly nine 
per cent, of the school enrollment. Where academies 
have yielded their place to free high schools, the academy 
funds have generally been utilized to increase the efficiency of 
the high school. The high schools in Hampden county are a just 
source of pride to the several towns in which they are maintained. 

Monson academy, in charge of a succession of principals 
eminent for scholarship and rare personal qualities, and strength- 
ened from time to time l\v the benefactions of liberal donors 
living in Monson. has maintained its hold upon the community. 
It still continues the noble work for which it was founded June 
21, 1804. It now adds to its original functions those of a high 
school for the town of Monson. 

( 243 ) 



OVR COUNTY AAD ITS PEOPLE 

The Wesleyan academy at Wilbraham, strengthened by the 
generous efit'orts of the members of the ^Methodist Episcopal 
church, also survived the revolution in favor of public high 
schools; broadening its Avork, adding to its equipment and in- 
creasing its intiuence. until it has become one of the leading acad- 
emies of the state. 

The Hitchcock Free academy, founded at Brimtield by the 
act of incorporation April 26, 1855, in the excellence of its work 
has taken rank with the INIonson and Wesleyan academies, fur- 
nishing admirable high school facilities to communities beyond 
the limits of Brimtield as well as to the people of that town. 

The district system, Horace JNIann and his immediate succes- 
sors found one of the greatest hindrances to the improvement of 
public schools. By this system the inhabitants of towns Avere for 
many years divided into petty corporations, each having well 
nigh independent management of its own school. The large 
centers of population were the first to free themselves from the 
evils of the system ; but in the rural sections of the state, in- 
trenched in what was deemed the right of local government, and 
defended by custom, it long seemed almost invincible. In spite 
of several legislative attempts to rid the state of the system, it 
was not fully abolished until 1882, though persuasion and legis- 
lation had previously led all but forty-five towns to adopt the 
town system, by which all the schools of a town are in charge of 
a town committee. This system frees from the petty feuds, the 
damaging jealousies, the narrow parsimony and the selection of 
teachers on the grounds of relationships and favoritisms, that 
often made the district system a disgrace. Political considera- 
tions may gain possession of the members of a town committee. 
The committees in our county have generally been wholly free 
from such debasement. The good results of the town system 
are evident on every hand. Among the most obvious are the 
more healthful, tasteful and suitable school buildings that have 
been erected in recent years. This improvement is most marked 
in agricultural communities where, under the district system, 
neighborhood strifes and local jealousies too often made it easy 
for penurious men to prevent the erection of needed buildings. 

( 244 ) 



EDUCATION 

When the district system was abolished, the very persons often, 
who had striven to prevent the substitution of a good building for 
a dilapidated one, were eager to have a new building erected at 
the expense of the town. As soon as in any section of the town 
an old school building w^as displaced by a modern one, other sec- 
tions claimed a like improvement as their right. 

The high school buildings recently erected in the county are 
fitting expressions of the value the people of the county now 
attach to the work of the highest grades in our public schools. 
They show a Avorthy public spirit, and tend to impress us with the 
dignity and importance of the ends for which they w^ere erected. 
The chaste elegance and substantial character of the Springfield 
High school places it in the first rank of public buildings in the 
state. But more important than solid and tasteful architecture 
are the arrangements for the seating of pupils, for ample light, 
for heating, for ventilation and for securing other conditions of 
physical well being. The high schools are not yet perfect in 
these matters : but we have so far progressed in their construction 
and equipment that the intellectual and moral results sought in 
a course of secondary instruction, are far more easily attainable 
than in the school buildings of a former generation. 

If we compare the studies and the methods of the earlier 
schools with those of to-day, we find that, as the simple and uni- 
form mode of life of the early settlers has given place to the 
more complex conditions of our present social life, the curricu- 
lum of the schools has of necessity become more varied and com- 
prehensive. 

We have already noticed the text-books of the colonial dame 
schools— the horn-book and the New England primer— and that 
reading, writing, and ciphering, with a little geography, made up 
the work of the common school. The time of keeping school in 
the country schools was much less than now. It was not uncom- 
mon in sparsely populated sections, to omit the school during the 
winter, and farm work tended to shorten the summer term. 
Some branches that now receive large attention had no place in 
the schools for two centuries. Drawing was not legally allowed 
in the public schools by act of the legislature until 1858, and not 

( 245 ) 



OVB COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

until 1870 was it made a regular study. Manual training, in the 
earlier schools, -was unthought of save what was provided for by 
copy books and in pen-making from quills ; but girls in their 
homes were proud to become proficient in spinning, weaving and 
needlework, and in solving by experience the problems of the culi- 
naiy art. Boys learned to board and shingle buildings, score 
and hew timber, fell trees, make fences, mend harnesses, and 
fashion many farm implements. They also had training in the 
cultivation of crops and in the care of domestic animals. 

Nature study, as a department of school work, no pupil pur- 
sued, yet the objects of nature in the open country impressed the 
minds of the children as they do not to-day in our more populous 
districts abounding with works of men. In open spaces, un- 
walled by buildings, children beheld the changing forms, the 
colors, the lights and shades that give such charms to the scenery 
of earth and sky. They beheld the whole western horizon kind- 
ling with purple and gold at time of setting sun. The wonder 
of the night, stars studding the sky, the changing moon, and the 
"wandering tires"— all impressed them as the phenomena of the 
heavens cannot now impress children reared in the artificial ap- 
pliances of cities and thickly populated districts. Though the 
systematic study of plants found no place in those earlier schools, 
yet the children knew the homes of the wild flowers and most of 
their common names. One of their pastimes in their woodland 
walks was to test each other's knowledge of the kinds of trees and 
shrubs they passed. They learned the habits and haunts of birds 
and of other denizens of the forest. So much as they learned of 
nature, they learned in the fields w^here objects were seen in 
their entirety and in their natural environment. What they 
learned of nature they learned by their own observation, and not 
by reading about what some one else had observed. AVhat is 
learned by one's own observation and experience is not easily 
forgotten. 

The transfer of home industries to factories, the making of 
things by machinery instead of by hand, has left the home with- 
out those opportunities for manual training and those incentives 
to it that the country homes of our county once furnished. 

( 24G ) 



EDUCATION 

Manual trainins: and gymnastic exercises are now needful to a 
large proportion of pupils in our public schools. These are need- 
ed in our cities and towns for training of eye and hand, for a 
better appreciation of the material agencies ministering to mod- 
ern life, and for the opportunity to more Avisely answer the ques- 
tion, ' ' To Avhat work in life am I best adapted ? ' ' 

In cities where the phj^sical environment of the child is in 
large degree artificial, the objects of nature cannot stimulate his 
curiosity and Avaken his interest as in a country home. That he 
may gain clear and distinct perceptions of natural objects, so 
fundamental to all subsequent knowledge gained by books pre- 
senting that which is beyond the range of observation, the natural 
objects, as far as may be, must be brought to him, or he must be 
brought to the objects and led to study them in their native con- 
ditions and surroundings. 

The applications of chemistry, of physics, and of other de- 
partments of natural science in different employments, now 
including practical farming, even, have furnished good reasons 
for introducing the study of elementary science into the public 
schools. The study of the objects that belong to the pupil's 
physical environment, as a means of developing his power of 
observation and of cultivating his aesthetic nature, has been 
found to have high educational value. Drawing, so long exclud- 
ed from the public schools, is now obligatory in all. It is now 
rendering an admirable service, though the patrons of the schools 
do not yet fully appreciate its large practical and educational 
value. 

Thus new studies from time to time have been added, while 
the names of the old have taken on a new signifieance. Arith- 
metic no longer includes curious and time-exhausting puzzles, 
but trends closely to the requirements of the counting room and 
the demands of industrial affairs. Geography is no longer a 
catalogue of continents, seas, capes, bays, rivers, mountains, 
states and capitals. The earth is now studied as the home of 
man, and in its relations to the varied for)ns of human activities. 
Grammar no longer employs pupils in memorizing useless forms 
and in attempting unnecessary classifications ; but yields the field 

( 247 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

to practical lessons in language by which accuracy, facility, and 
grace in oral and written composition are gained. Scientific 
study of language, grammar proper, is reserved for the highest 
grade of the grammar school, or more properly deferred until the 
pupil reaches the secondary school. 

There has been progress in the inner life of the schools, in 
their aims, and in their methods, no less than in the studies pur- 
sued. The purpose of the colonial schools was to impart knowl- 
edge of reading, writing and the simple elements of arithmetic. 
The embryo high schools gave opportunity for the scanty prep- 
aration required to enter Harvard college. Grammar, 
geography and history came into the common school later. To 
these, in the academies, were added the elements of some of the 
natural sciences, learned mostly by memorizing text-books with 
occasional visible illustrations and experiments prepared and 
presented by the teacher. The object here as in the connnon 
schools was knowledge— in large degree verbal knowledge. The 
laboratory method now adopted in our schools is far in advance 
of former methods. Instead of the teacher performing experi- 
ments in chemistry and physics in the presence of the pupils and 
telling them what they see, they themselves perform the experi- 
ments, observe, infer, and tell the teacher the mode of procedure 
and the results. So in studying plants and minerals, the objects 
of study are in the hands of the pupils, or wathin the range of 
their observation so that they may analyze them, discover truth for 
themselves and frame statements of their own ideas. Books are 
no longer regai'ded as the primary source of ideas, nor the pupils 
as passive recipients of verbal statements, made by the teacher 
or furnished in printed pages. 

The schools in earlier times, however, were not without good 
results. Committing to memory words and sentences helped 
pupils to learn spelling and the construction of sentences. The 
weekly declamations and recitations in the academies and the 
occasional exercises of a similar sort in the common school, were 
means of literary culture. IModern schools have found no better 
means than memorizing and suitably expressing appropriate 
selections of real excellence. 

( 248 ) 



ED re AT WN 

The reading' books, though often not adapted to interest the 
children in the lower grades, rendered valuable literary service 
to older pupils. The reading lessons might be fragmentary : but 
they were often the finest selections from the most approved 
authors. They were read over and over, and from them were 
largely taken the prose or the poetry to be recited during the 
hours given to rhetorical exercises. The prolonged attention that 
the literature of the reading books secured, making it a life-long 
possession, together with the constant influence of daily readings 
of the Bible, both in the liome and in the school, give us reasons 
for the vigorous and clear style of the letters and the current 
literature of the eighteenth century. The supply of reading 
was often scanty, but what there was, was for the most part 
good. Omnivei-ous and thoughtless reading, nourished by sen- 
sational sheets and by books of fiction, feeble and faulty in style, 
and unnatural and startling in the presentation of trivial events, 
filling the imagination with silly pictures, leaving little room and 
less inclination for sober thought— such reading Avas not the 
reading of our forefathers, neither in childhood nor in later 
years ; it pertains to the intellectual idlers, the weaklings in pur- 
pose, of later times. 

There may have been little genuine teaching, yet there were 
excellences in the schools w^hich we may not pass unnoticed. 
There was no pampering of the intellect. That which was to be 
studied was not so diluted as to render hard study unnecessary 
and enfeeble thought. If little was done to smooth the rugged 
pathway of knowledge, it challenged effort, evoked self-reliance, 
strength and courage. If the school weeks were comparatively 
few and the list of studies meagre, the pupils generally came to 
school with an earnest purpose to accomplish something worthy, 
and to make the most of their opportunities. The modern strife 
of society and the school for the time and strength of the pupil 
during the hours of evening did not then exist. The evenings 
at home were seldom interrupted. They supplemented the ses- 
sions of school. And when the school terms for the year were 
ended, the quiet homes and secluded employments of the country, 
gave abundant opportunity to think over again what had been 
learned and to revive its impressions. 

( 249 ) 



01 R COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

One of the defects of the teaching, from which we are not 
wholly freed, was that descriptions of things were studied, rather 
than things tliemselves : and yet this was less injurious to the boys 
and girls of the colonial schools, because, in their daily life they 
had more to do with the objects of nature than we. Another 
defect Avas that the objects of study, whether presented in books 
or otherwise, their arrangement, and the language employed, 
were generally adapted to the mind of the adult rather than to 
the mind of the child. The deductive order, by which the mind 
proceeds from general propositions and truths to specific applica- 
tions and illustrations, was enii^loyed rather than the inductive, 
by which the child begins with a knowledge of individual objects, 
and by his own inference, comes to the general truth. 

The interests of the child were not consulted. It was not 
then the theory of most teachers that children should be attracted 
to their school-work. On the contrary, it was believed they 
would fail to gain one of the chief objects of school discipline, 
unless they were daily held and habituated to the performance of 
unAvelcome tasks. The discipline that comes by unreserved devo- 
tion to work which one enjoys was not appreciated. The spirit 
of the kindergarten which now permeates the lower grades of our 
schools was wanting. 

To-day, the progressive teacher studies the nature of the child, 
traces his instincts, his interests and his aversions, the ways in 
which he thinks, and the steps by which he approaches knowl- 
edge. The result of such study is intelligent teaching in accord 
with the unfolding faculties of the child. Does a child first gain 
a knowledge of objects by his own observation and experience? 
Then the teacher of to-day begins the teaching of every subject 
by leading the child to observe that which is to be studied, rather 
than words describing it. Such teaching is in strong contrast 
with the book-learning of earlier times. Does a child naturally 
attend to things changing and moving sooner than to things at 
rest and inactive ? Then the study of animals and plants in the 
kindergarten and primary school precedes the study of minerals. 
To-day the instincts of the child are consulted in planning his 
work and in providing for his recreations. Is he fond of making 

( 250 ) 



EDUCATION 

things? He is trained in drawing, moulding, and woodwork, 
and by these exercises secures not only manual training but 
mental culture. Mythic legends and fairy tales are furnished 
for reading at the age when the imagination revels in its freedom 
not yet restrained by the tests of truth. The self-activity of the 
child is so directed as to lead to a natural development. 

Unnatural quiet and stillness, produced by rigid restraint, 
are no longer regarded the acme of school order ; it is now secured 
by furnishing ample and agreeable employment in suitable 
school work. The applications of the rod and the ferule were 
once the approved means of limiting, if not of eliminating, the 
hereditary perversity of the wall termed by the tneologians "orig- 
inal sin." While it is still admitted that force and physical 
penalty are ultimately to be employed if school order cannot be 
otherwise maintained, there is now found comparatively little 
use for them in schools. In moral training, the effort now is not 
to eradicate tendencies to evil by severity, but to dwarf and 
wither them by the overgrowth of noble aspirations and worthy 
deeds. The modern teacher, instead of compelling by penalties 
and coercing by fear, allures and leads along the paths of knowl- 
edge, selecting the way so wisely and so in accord with the tastes 
and the pace of children that it is far pleasanter for them to keep 
company with the teacher than to stray in forbidden paths. 
Once, knowledge seemed to be the ultimate aim of all school work. 
To-day, power rather than knowledge is the aim. The test of a 
pupil's school work is not what he can repeat, but what he can 
think and do. 

The report of the board of education for 1899-1900 fur- 
nishes some interesting statistics relative to the present condi- 
tion of the public schools of the county ; 30,457 persons are re- 
ported between the ages of 5 and 15 years of age, 30,011 different 
persons of all ages in the public schools during the school year, 
and 22,264 the average attendance; $5,354.01 was expended for 
the conveyance of pupils. The amount thus expended will 
doubtless be increased as the people become more fully apprised 
that money is saved, better educational appliances can be pro- 
vided, and better teachers permanently employed by closing the 

( 251 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

small schools and transporting the pupils to larger schools. In 
aiding this better grouping of pupils, trolley cars are becoming 
factors in educational progress. 

The amount paid for teachers' wages during the year 1900 
was $505,962.91. The total expenditure for the support of 
public schools was $708,450.81. Of this sum. $99,489.72 was 
expended for new school houses, a sum considerably less than the 
expenditure for this purpose during some preceding years. If 
to the amount expended as reported, we could add the annual 
interest of the capital invested in school buildings and in other 
school appliances, the amount expended in providing public 
instruction and the amount annually expended in other ways for 
education in the county, the sum might be found to approach 
nearer two millions than one. 

Ten high schools are reported, including the Hitchcock Free 
academy and the Monson academy. The whole number of pupils 
in high schools was 2.014. The attendance at high schools during 
the last five years shows a ratio of increase much beyond the ratio 
of increase of population. The causes for the recent rapid growth 
of high schools, are, "the feeling that a higher education is 
needed to cope with the present conditions of life, both social and 
industrial : the increasing disposition to recognize the high school 
as a natural part and continuation of public education; an 
improvement in circumstances that enables parents to give their 
children better advantages for a start in life ; in some places, a 
decrease in the demand for boys' labor in factories and mills, and 
in other employments of a distinctly manual character : and 
lastly, the broadening of high school courses of studies, so that 
now. whatever their destination in life, young people find some- 
thing in the high school that seems to meet their wants or tastes." 
We may expect that the attendance in these schools of higher 
grade will increase still more rapidly as the courses in the high 
schools become more elective, and more closely adapted to the 
demands of active life. 

The mode of providing high school instruction for pupils in 
the smaller towns, who are qualified for admission to a high 
school and desire to enter, is not uniform. Towns whose valua- 

( 252 ) 



EDl'CA TION 

tion is less than $500,000, generally avail themselves of the pro- 
visions of the recent law of the state, exempting such towns from 
the payment of the tuition of their pupils in attendance in high 
schools of other towns and making it a charge upon the state. 
In small towns, whose valuation exceeds $500,000, local pride and 
sometimes economical considerations, favor the maintenance of a 
school of higher grade that shall wholly, or in part, provide high 
school instruction. There are many reasons why a town should 
strenuovisly endeavor to maintain one school of higher grade, 
even if unable to provide a complete high school course. 

During the century that has just closed, the instruction of the 
pupils in our public schools has been in large degree transferred 
from men to women. In earl.y colonial times women were not 
employed as teachers, save in schools for little children, in which 
the range of studies did not go beyond the Horn book and the 
New England primer. The contents of the primer we have al- 
ready outlined. The Horn book is described as "a single leaf 
on which was printed at the beginning of the first line the form 
of a cross, to show that the end of training is piety. After the 
cross there followed the letters of the alphabet, the small letters 
and the capitals, the vowels, syllables of two letters, and the 
words, ' In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy 
Ghost. Amen.' Closing with the Lord's Prayer." The sheet 
was originally in England covered with a transparent sheet of 
horn, hence its name. 

The famous law of 1647 did not recognize women as teachers. 
Every township of fifty householders was ordered to appoint one 
in their town to teach all such children as should resort to him. 
When a town had set up a grammar school, a "master" was to 
be employed to teach it. The "Dame schools," usually kept in 
rooms of dwelling houses, were deemed within the province of 
women who were to be "keepers at home." 

The opinion was then general that to teach girls in school 
anything beyond reading and writing and the simplest rudi- 
ments of other common branches, was to waste time, for these 
were all they would have occasion to use. They had no oppor- 
tunity in tlie public schools to gain the knowledge required to 

( 253 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

teach grades above the primary. The grammar schools were for 
boys only. Boston, supposed then as now to furnish literary 
models for other communities, admitted girls to the grammar 
school for the first time in 1789, and for nearly half a century 
thereafter they were permitted to attend only one-half of the 
year— from April to October. The public sentiment seemed 
quite in accord with the saying of a German philosopher, "The 
home of man is the world, the world of woman her home." A 
historian tells us that "the rural schools admitted the boys and 
girls alike, but the instruction for the girls was limited to lessons 
in writing, spelling and reading." 

The dedication of the building of the AVestfield academy, 
then the only academy in Western INIassachusetts, marked the 
beginning of a new era in the history of the education of the 
girls in Hampden county. The limitations of their instruction 
in the public schools did not obtain in academies. AVhatever 
was there taught, girls could study as freely as boys. As there 
were no colleges for girls, they were not expected to elect prepar- 
atory studies. As high schools were established, boys and girls 
were admitted on equal footing. The same was true of State 
Normal schools. Now colleges are provided for women. The 
methods of goveraing pupils have become more human, requiring 
less strength of muscle— an advance for which we are indebted 
mainly to the increased number of female teachers in our schools. 

Owing to these conditions, and others which might be no- 
ticed, the large majority of the teachers in our public schools 
to-day are women. There are now more than ten times as many 
women as men teaching in the public schools of the state. The 
number of different male teachers employed in the public schools 
of Hampden county, as officially reported for the school year end- 
ing in 1900, was only 78, while the number of female teachers 
was 901. 

In 1881 the legislature granted to women the right to vote 
for school committee, thus increasing the power of women to 
control the management of the public schools. 

In 1874 the legislature passed an act declaring that no per- 
son should be deemed ineligible to the office of school committee 

( 254 ) 



EDUCATION 

by reason of sex. From that date, and in some towns earlier, 
women have served on the school committee in the towns of our 
county, most acceptably. Several towns have found their need 
of school supervision best supplied by the employment of women 
as superintendents. The intelligent women of Hampden county 
have done more than men to upbuild the public schools. They, 
together with other women of the state, have been effective in 
securing the teaching of temperance in the schools. The high 
moral tone of the public schools of the county is largely the 
result of their influence. 

Educational Institutions Not Included in the PuMic Schools. 
— Every city and town in Hampden county has a free public 
library ; every one of these libraries aids the work of public 
schools. It is an essential part of a good secondary course of 
instruction to teach the student how to use a library in topical 
study. Under the direction of the librarian and the teacher, 
pupils in the grammar grades, even, learn how to make the 
library supplement the work of the school. Following the ex- 
ample of the public library of Brookline. Mass., where in 1890 
a juvenile room was first provided and furnished with suitable 
books, most of the libraries in the county make special provisions 
for the needs and the tastes of children. Librarians and teachers 
co-operate in making the library serviceable to pupils in the 
schools and to youth who are continuing their studies beyond the 
schools. Every progressive teacher feels that to teach the art of 
reading and leave the pupil unaided in his selection to make his 
way among periodicals and books is like launching one upon an 
unknown sea without chart or rudder; hence the teachers more 
and more feel the necessity of introducing those under their care 
to good literature, and so cultivating their taste for it, that their 
intellectual and moral progress after leaving school will be 
assured. 

In 1898, there were 191, 419 volumes in the free public libraries 
in the county. Large accessions have since been made. Spring- 
field library alone is reported to contain upwards of 101,000 
volumes. The aggregate circulation is about twice the number 
of volumes. 

( 255 ) 



01' R COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

The Hampden County Teachers' association adopted its 
present constitution May, 1856. Its annual meetings have ever 
been interesting and profitable. The attendance in recent years 
has been so large and the work so specialized, that it is customary 
to divide the members, during a part of the time of each meeting, 
into three sections — primary, grammar and high school. The 
association includes not only teachers of every grade, but mem- 
bers of school committees and others interested in public schools. 
No organizations are more democratic than our teachers' associa- 
tions, and none has been more earnest in kindling the aspirations 
and improving the professional skill of its members. The meet- 
ings of the association are held in Springfield. Before this city 
was as readily reached from surrounding towns as now, the meet- 
ings Avere held in different towns, in response to invitations. Its 
coming was gladly heralded. Citizens opened their houses to 
those in attendance and provided bountiful entertainment; the 
citizens felt amply repaid in listening to the discussions and lec- 
tures before the association. 

A preliminary meeting of principals of high schools and 
academies Avas held in Springfield, January 18, 1896. At the 
next meeting, Febi-uary 14. articles of agreement were adopted 
and a club was organized under the name, "Headmasters' Club 
of Western ^Massachusetts. " Its object is to promote acquaint- 
ance and to aid each other by discussing school questions and 
plans of school work. Five or six meetings are held annuallj^ 
one of which, termed "Ladies Day," is spent in visiting some 
place of historical or literary interest. The earnest work 
of this club is fruitful in improving the several schools in charge 
of its members. 

The Hitchcock Free academy was established by the citizens 
of Brimfield in response to a letter received from Samuel Austin 
Hitchcock, dated Februaiy 21, 1855. In this letter, :\Ir. Hitch- 
cock disclosed his intention of giving $10,000 for the purpose of 
endoAving a "Free (iraiinnar School." In the name suggested, 
he seems to ha\'e had in mind the "Grammar School" of earlier 
times, Avhich corresponded to our present high school. ]Mr. 
Hitchcock donated in all $75,000. One condition of his first gift 

( 256 ) 



EDUCATION 

was that the school should be free to all children of suitable age 
and qualifications who are inhabitants of the town ; a condition 
of his later gift is, that, "so far as pupils from other towns can 
be accommodated at the school and not deprive the children of 
the town of any advantages of the same, they shall be received 
upon the same terms as resident scholars." 

Monson academy, incorporated in 1804, is the oldest acad- 
emy in the county that, as an active and independent institution, 
has survived the rise of public high schools. 

Westfield academy, founded a few years earlier, was for 
many years the most important academy in the county ; but a 
generation ago, the development of free high schools led the 
trustees to sell its building and grounds to the town of Westfield 
for the use of the Westfield High school. The proceeds of the 
sale was invested and the income is now used to aid in providing 
instruction in the school. 

Monson academy, like other academies in the county, has 
ever been open to young ladies as well as to young men. It has 
fitted a large number for college ; but a much larger number have 
here completed their school education for an active life. Among 
the alumni of the academy in active life previous to 1875, we 
find the names of Henry L. Barnard, LL. D., the first U. S. com- 
missioner of education ; W. A. Larned, professor in Yale col- 
lege; D. B. Coe, D. D., secretary of the American Missionary 
society; Richard S. Storrs, D. D., of Brooklyn, the prince of 
preachers ; G. H. Gould, D. D., and S. Curtis, professors of theol- 
ogy in Chicago seminary. To this period belong also one Mdio 
became a judge of the Supreme court of the United States, and 
another who held a like position in the courts of INIassachusetts. 
Could we have the record of the alumni during later years it 
would doubtless be alike honorable. 

The principals of this school have included several men of 
excellent scholarship. Perhaps the most eminent man in its his- 
tory was Charles Hammond, who directed its activities, in all, 
twenty-five years. To the people of the town, Monson academy 
now offers the opportunities of a free high school. 

The Wesleyan academy was first opened at Newmarket, New 
Hampshire, September 1, 1817. Thus, it is the oldest literary 

17-1 ( 257 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

institiitiou under the especial patronage of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church in America. It was opened at Wilbraham, in 
November, 1825. with eight students. Its rapid growth was the 
result of the prayerful effort and zeal of Methodist preachers, 
seconded by others who have appreciated its religious character 
and its sound learning. Though in its founding and mainte- 
nance, it has been known as a Methodist school, it has ever been 
unsectarian in its teaching, and largely patronized by those of 
other denominations. It numbers among its present and former 
students, over seventeen thousand persons. Some nine hundred 
of these have gone from the school to college. A much larger 
number have gone into school room? as teachers. Its career has 
furnished evidence of the success of co-education ; more than a 
third of the students have been young women. 

The education which this academy has ever aimed to secure 
is broad and comprehensive, the education of body, mind and 
heart. The moral and religious well-being of the students has 
ever been a matter of the highest regard. 

"The situation" of the school, as some one has said, "is beau- 
tiful, dry and healthful. No epidemic of serious disease has 
been known. A splendid supply of water is secured from springs 
on the mountain above, and the fann lands sloping away toward 
the Connecticut river, nine miles distant, at Springfield, give a 
natural and effective drainage. The extensive grounds— for, 
with farm and forest, they comprise more than two hundred acres 
—afford an ample campus, set with stately trees, an easily acces- 
sible athletic field, rugged foot hills for golf and rambling, and a 
wide prospect of forest and rocky ridge, that has made the school- 
home most attractive and inspiring." 

The Smith Memorial gymnasium, recently erected at a cost 
of forty-five thousand dollars, containing ample equipments and 
apparatus on the first floor for young men, and on the second for 
young ladies, enables the physical director to train all the stu- 
dents in daily exercises adapted to secure bodily health and 
graceful movement. The work of the gymnasium is well supple- 
mented by outdoor exercises and games on the broad campus. 
Few secondary schools furnish such opportunities for physical 
culture. 

( 258 ) 



EDUCATION 

The courses of study include English, Elocution, History, 
Classics, Modern Languages, Mathematics, Science and Psychol- 
ogy, with which are grouped Ethics and Economics. 

The studies are so combined in programs as to furnish elective 
courses for those who are fitting for college, for those who are 
fitting for technical schools, and for those who would complete 
their school preparation for life, at the academy. All students 
are required to avail themselves of the opportunities for physical 
culture and for the study of the Bible. 

Special training for business is furnished in the well-fitted 
rooms of the commercial department. Special instruction is 
furnished in tlie several departments of music and fine arts, 
and special diplomas are awarded. 

Rich Hall, a comparatively new building, presenting a front 
of two hundred and forty feet, affords in one wing, fine rooms 
for young men, and in another, for young ladies, who wish to 
make their home at the school during the months of study. As 
the living rooms of the faculty are in this building, they are able 
to provide the students with many of the advantages of a well 
ordered family, while the frequent receptions and the gatherings 
of the students in voluntary organizations, do much to add zest to 
their social life. 

The buildings named, together with the old academy, Fisk, 
Binney and music halls, the principal's residence, the beautiful 
Memorial church erected by friends of the academy, and other 
buildings on and near the campus, give evidence of the generous 
interest that supports the institution and of the wide influence it 
exerts. 

In recent years more than fifty thousand dollars of endow- 
ment and twenty-five thousand dollars in scholarships, have been 
received. To the chapters upon the towns of Brimfield, Monson 
and Wilbraham, we would refer for fuller accounts of the above 
named academies. 

The Westfield academy when founded was a school for a 
wide section embracing all the towns of Hampden county and 
towns beyond, in fact all of AVestern Massachusetts ; but as the 
people of Westfield originated it, and its history is almost insep- 

( 259 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

arable from that of the town, we shall give the detailed history of 
this famous academy in connection with the history of Westfield. 

The Bible Normal college, founded by Rev. David Allen 
Eeed, and incorporated Jan. 28, 1885, was at first named "The 
School for Christian Workers." It was enlarged in 1892, and 
again in 1897, when it was given its present name. This college 
is interdenominational and co-edncational. It is intended to hold 
the same place in the training of religious teachers that normal and 
other professional schools hold in the training of secular teachers. 
Three courses of study are offered : 1. A course of three years, 
largely elective. 2. A course of two years. 3. A course of 
one year. The studies may be grouped under studies relating 
to the Bible, studies relating to man, and studies relating to 
teaching. The buildings of the college are located near the head 
of State street in the Highlands. Arrangements are now being 
made for transferring this college to Hartford and affiliating it 
with the Theological seminary. 

The International Y. M. C. A. Training School. — In response 
to an evident need. Rev. David Allen Reed, in connection with the 
School for Christian AA'orkers, founded the International Y. ^I. 
C. A. Training school in 1885. In 1890, yielding to the demand 
of associations, it was incorporated as a separate institution under 
its present name. The following year, its present site, including 
thirty acres, on the borders of Massasoit lake, was purchased. 
Soon a model gymnasium and athletic field were made ready, and, 
in 1895, the present large and commodious building Avas erected. 
At first young men were trained for association work by the 
apprentice system ; the training of this school proves far more 
efficient. The course covers three years, and aims, first, to equip 
every student to be a leader in religious work for boys and young 
men, and second, to give him a technical knowledge of the work 
he expects to undertake in the Young jNIen's Christian associa- 
tion. 

The French- American college, originated in Lowell, 1885, 
in a desire to extend the light and the truth of the gospel of 
Christ to Canadian-French youth. It secured land and buildings 
and may be said to have been founded in Springfield in 1888. 

( 260 ) 



EDUCATION 

Four years later, women were admitted, and its plan was broad- 
ened to include a full college and a preparatory academical 
course. While its original purpose to educate and christianize 
the Canadian French is strenuously maintained, it now admits 
with these, Italians, Armenians, and others, who cannot well be 
cared for in ordinary American schools. The rapid increase of 
foreigners in our county and in other parts of New England, it 
is believed, demands such an institution, if the truths of the 
gospel are to be brought home in their native tongues, to the 
French and to other foreigners settling among us. It is claimed 
that such a college is needed if we would make those coming 
among us from other countries, enlightened and worthy citizens. 
Large place is given to the study of the Bible and of the modern 
languages, though the aim is to give each student, as far as may 
he, the benefit of a well rounded college course, that each may be 
equipped for leadership among his own people. 

The AVoman's hall, recently erected, one of the six buildings 
now belonging to the college, is a commodious and very service- 
able building. The campus and other college grounds include 
five and one-half acres. The college makes some provision for 
student labor and instruction in domestic economy and the 
practical arts. The growth of the college has compelled expen- 
ditures in excess of receipts. If it is to accomplish its beneficent 
purposes, funds must be obtained for buildings, for an endow- 
ment, and to meet increasing current expenses. 

The Springfield business college Avas established several 
years ago and has trained many young men and many young 
ladies for the successful discharge of the varied duties of the 
counting-room. It claims a more successful patronage than any 
other similar institution in Western Massachusetts. 

The "Bay Path Institute," during the few years of its his- 
tory, has reached a high standard of excellence. It has rapidly 
gained the confidence of business men by the thoroughness of its 
teaching and training, and, with its recently enlarged facilities, 
confidently expects to provide for its increasing patronage. 

"The Elms," a family and day school, delightfully situated 
at No. 141 High street, gives opportunity by its courses of study 

( 261 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

for primary, intermediate and higher instruction. The college 
preparatory course covers four years, and the English depart- 
ment a like period. 

The ]\IacDnfife school is an nnsectarian school for the liberal 
education of girls. Its aim is the development of a sound body 
and of systematic, scholarly habits of thought. Its certificate of 
qualifications admits students to Vassar and to the three women's 
colleges in our state. AYell rounded courses of study and train- 
ing prepare those who do not enter college, for the duties of life. 
The buildings of the school are on the grounds of the homestead 
of the late Samuel Bowles, formerly editor of the Springfield 
Republican. The equipment of this school challenges compari- 
son Avith that of any private school for girls in the state. 

The Harvard Street kindergarten, opened some ten years 
ago by Miss Herrick, Avon its way when kindergartens were new 
among us. It did much to pave the way for the establishment of 
kindergartens as part of the present school system of Springfield. 
Miss Putnam, whose work is highly appreciated, took charge of 
this kindergarten September, 1895. 

Any enumeration of the schools and the charitable institu- 
tions that the Catholics have set up and have generously main- 
tained in Hampden county, during the past thirty years, would 
furnish impressive evidence of the self-denial, the religious zeal, 
and the liberality of the members of the Catholic church. 

Eev. Patrick Healy, Avho was appointed to care for the 
"Parish of the Holy Name of Jesus," in 1864, seems to have been 
the first to establish a parochial school in Hampden county. The 
historian of the Springfield Diocese, Rev. J. J. McCoy, now in 
charge of the "Parish," thus speaks of Father Healy, and of the 
opening of the school : ' ' He was the pioneer of parochial school 
education in this diocese. Three years after his coming, he built 
the Convent of the Sacred Heart of Mary, and called thereto four 
sisters of Notre Dame, to take charge of St. Joseph's school for 
girls. They were Sisters Mary Albanie, INIary Rosa, Felicitas 
and Magdalen of St. Joseph. Sister Mary Albanie was the 
superior. Father Healy met them at Springfield, and had them 
driven in a hack to Chicopee. The people of the parish were 

( 263 ) 



EDUCATION 

gathered in the church to greet them, and in the middle aisle 
stood three hundred children dressed in white, who commenced, 
at the entrance of the sisters, the chanting of the Litany of the 
Blessed Virgin, and the singing of hymns of praise to God. 
These concluded, one of their number. Miss Sarah Bowe, welcomed 
the Sisters, saying: 'Permit me, dear Sisters, on behalf of my 
youthful companions, who have chosen me to represent them on 
this joyful occasion, to offer you from our hearts a most sincere 
and cordial welcome to your new home. You come to devote 
your lives to us, and we trust that in all our actions, nothing may 
ever occur to cause you any regret. We beg God, dear Sisters, 
to bless and strengthen your charitable undertaking, and we 
sincerely hope that we may ever bless this day when we for the 
first time become your obedient and devoted children.' . . , 
The second of September following, the first school was opened 
in the side chapel of the church. There were two hundred girls 
in attendance. October 15, the Rt. Rev. Bishop Williams of 
Boston, dedicated the convent chapel and schoolhouse, which 
latter, at the Sisters' coming, was unfinished." 

"It Mere hardly possible to speak of Father Healy and his 
work without recalling to all who knew him the 'little superior,' 
Sister Mary Albanie, who came the first days the Sisters came, 
and for twenty-three years kept equal pace by his side in all the 
works done for God in the parish ; and m ho, if grateful hearts 
speak the truth, though in poverty herself, from her mite fed and 
clothed whole families. The general estimation of her is found 
in the words of an aged and respectable lady of the parish, 
spoken to the present Superior Sister Imelda of the Sacred Heart, 
'The good old Superior took care of my small children while I 
worked in the mill. This was done, sister dear, that the eldest, 
Katie, might attend school. She would do anything for the love 
of God.'" 

The charming and apparently very candid history of Rev. 
J. J. McCoy went to press in 1900. It will repay careful perusal. 
To it we must refer those who would know more of the rise of the 
fourteen or more parochial schools in our county. A few sta- 
tistics gathered from its statements may be interesting. 

( 263 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

There are nearly seven thousand pupils in the parochial 
schools in Hampden county. These schools are organized to cor- 
respond in grading with the public schools, and in some cases 
furnish secondary instruction. These schools, with very few 
exceptions, are taught by sisters from some of the convents. The 
girls in attendance largely outnunil)er the boys. 



CHAPTER XVII 
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, WESTFIELD 
BY JAMES CARRUTHEKS GREENOUGH, LL. D. 

The decline of the public schools previous to the revolution, 
the rise of academies and other private schools in the earlier part 
of the nineteenth century, resulting in the increased neglect of 
the public schools, we have already noticed in the chapter on the 
History of Education. The better methods of teaching employed 
in some of the academies, the higher grade of teachers secured, 
and the better ideals of a school which academies maintained, 
rendered the need of improvement of the public schools more 
apparent. 

From among those educated in public schools, acad- 
emies and colleges, who had informed themselves of the great 
educational movement in Germany, came educational leaders, 
who sought to arouse an intelligent interest in measures adapted 
to improve the public schools. One evidence of their success was 
the passage by the Massachusetts legislature of the act of 1826, 
requiring the election, in every town, of a school committee, to 
have general charge of the schools and to make annual reports to 
the towns and returns to the state. The abstract of returns 
presented to the legislature in 1827 Avas made from the returns 
of 214 towns out of the 302 towns m the state. As yet the state 
had devised no inducement sufficient to secure returns from all 

( 364 ) 



t<TATE NORMAL SCHOOL 

the towns, and many of those received were not what were re- 
quired. Not to quote from towns out of the county, the returns 
from Springfield may illustrate : 

"Number of children from 7 to 16 not attending school— AVe 
are not able to make an accurate return. We do not knoiv that 
any abstain wholly from school, but the attendance in all the 
schools is very irregular and uncertain." 

The returns were sufficient to show that a large percentage 
of children of school age were not in the schools, that about one- 
fifth of those who did attend were in private schools or academies, 
and that a large share of the money paid for instruction was paid 
to these institutions. 

Governor Lincoln, in his inaugural of June 6, urged upon 
the legislature the necessity of improving the public schools, and 
to this end "the adoption of measures for the better qualification 
of teachers of youth." The same year, James G. Carter, of Lan- 
caster, presented a memorial asking the legislature to make an 
appropriation in aid of a school for the professional instruction 
of teachers. It has been said of Mr. Carter, that "from 1821, 
when he began to publish his articles on the free schools of New 
England, until the establishment of the state board of educa- 
tion," — sixteen years — "he did more than any other person, by 
his writings and public addresses, to reawaken an interest in pop- 
ular education and to suggest the means of improving the public 
schools." A committee of the legislature reported a bill in ac- 
cord with the memorial : but it was defeated in the senate by a 
majority of one. A bill favoring the establishment of a fund in 
aid of schools was debated and also defeated. 

In 1834 the legislature established a school fund limited at 
that time to $1,000,000. In the distribution of the income of this 
fund, the legislature could now furnish inducements to towns to 
comply with legislative requirements. Governor Boutwell has 
said that the creation of the school fund was the most important 
educational measure ever adopted by the government of the com- 
monwealth. 

The progressive teachers of the state in the meantime were 
not inactive. August 19, 1880, a body of earnest teachers, intent 

( 265 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

upon securing better public schools, met in the representatives' 
hall, Boston, adopted a constitution and organized an association; 
this was incorporated in 1831, under the title ''The American 
Institnte of Instrnction." In January, 1837, George B. Emer- 
son, as chairman of the ])oard of directors of the institnte, pre- 
sented a memorial to the legislature praying for the establish- 
ment of one or more seminaries for the instruction of teachers. 

April 14, the committee on education, to whom had been 
referred so much of (Jovernor Everett's inaugural as referred to 
education, the memorial of the institute and other documents of 
similar import, reported the following bill : 

"Be it enacted, etc., as follows: 

"Sect. 1. His excellency, the governor, with the advice and 
consent of the council, is hereby authorized to appoint eight per- 
sons, who, together with the governor and lieutenant-governor 
ex-officio, shall constitute and be denominated 'The Board of 
Education;' and the persons so appointed shall hold their offices 
for the term of eight years." 

On the 20th of April, 1837, the act was passed, and on the 
27th of May following, (tov. Edward Everett appointed the fol- 
lowing members of the board of education: James G. Carter, 
Emerson Davis, Edmund Dwight, Horace Mann, Edward New- 
ton, Thomas Robbins, Jared Sparks, George Hill: ex-officiis, 
Edward Everett, governor, George Hall, lieutenant-governor. 
Two of these, Emerson Davis and Edmund Dwight have insepar- 
ably connected themselves with the history of Hampden county. 

Dr. Davis was graduated from AVilliams college with salu- 
tatory honors, was tutor in the college for one year, and later, for 
several years, was its vice-president. For fourteen years he was 
principal of Westfield academy, and afterwards, for thirty years, 
pastor of the first Congregational church of Westfield, until the 
time of his sudden death in 1866. He was the author of books, 
historical and educational, was well informed respecting the pro- 
gress of popular education at home and abroad, and was a man 
of large common sense and withal was endowed with that judicial 
temperament which ever belongs to wise men. He was eminently 
fitted to discharge his duties as a member of the highest educa- 
tional council of the commonwealth. 

( 266 ) 



STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 

Mr. DAvight. then a resident in Boston and member of the 
house of representatives, has left ns monuments of his business 
talent and foresight in the large manufacturing interests he 
helped to found and to foster in Chicopee, and in other parts of 
our valley. Yet -he never allowed himself to be so submerged in 
business as to neglect his own personal culture or to divert his 
attention from the interests of popular education. Its evolution 
in Europe and in his own country he carefully traced. His gen- 
erous hospitality and the social attractions of his home, as well 
as his money and personal influence, were used to promote the 
public weal. He belonged to an old and honored family of 
Springfield. Public spirit and unsullied patriotism flowed in 
his veins. He invited to his table fellow legislators of large 
influence and stirred the zeal of men friendly to providing special 
training to teachers as a means of uplifting the public schools. 
He invited those opposed to new measures, and skilfully disarmed 
their oppasition. The issue, however, he saw was very doubtful ; 
that with such a governor as Everett a forward movement was 
possible, that postponement might delay progress for years. The 
party then out of j^ower was not in favor of certain progressive 
measures. Whether he divined that the Whig party was soon to 
lose its prestige by the election of a democratic governor, we do 
not know. He had done much ; he determined to add one more 
inducement for the furtherance of popular education. He of- 
fered $10,000, provided the state would appropriate an equal 
sum, to be expended under the direction of the board of edu- 
cation "for qualifying teachers." He was aware that the money 
might be expended in an unsuccessful experiment ; but he had the 
courage of his convictions and the heroism of a true patriot. On 
the 19th of April, 1838, the legislature accepted the offer of 
Edmund Dwight and the founding of one or more normal schools 
Avas so far assured. Hampden county was also honored a little 
later, in 1889, by the appointment of AYilliam G. Bates, of West- 
field, as a member of the board of education. He served eight 
years, declining re-election, owing to the pressure of his legal 
business and other duties to which he was called. He was a man 
of rare intellectual ability, of large executive energy, and of 

( 267 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

unresting devotion to the public good. To him was due the suc- 
cess of many of the early measures of the board. He wrote the 
eighth annual report of the board, in which is the first official 
recommendation in favor of using the Bible in the common 
schools. One of his law partners has said of him : "He had fine 
literary culture and a mind seasoned by familiarity with the 
standard English classics and the best models of the English 
tongue. ... As a writer, he wielded a graceful, vigorous, 
and prolific pen, showing mastery of 'English undefiled,' evinced 
by a large number of public addresses and documents and articles 
for the public press." His elegant yet forceful address at the 
dedication of the Normal school building at Bridgewater, Sep- 
tember 3, 1846, was in every way befitting the man and the occa- 
sion. 

The first meeting of the board of education was held the 
29th of June, 1837. The most important action of this meeting 
was the choice of Horace Mann, then president of the state sen- 
ate, to be the secretary of the board. The intense earnestness of 
Mr. Mann, which never waned during all the years he held the 
office, is shown from the fact that in less than three months from 
the time he entered upon the duties of his office, August 28, 1837. 
he met in convention the friends of education in every county 
save Suffolk, examined personally, or through reliable evidence 
obtained definite knowledge of, the plan and condition of eighteen 
hundred school houses, and informed himself of the actual needs 
of the public schools in one-half of the towns of the common- 
wealth. 

We have seen that the liberality of Mr. Dwight, seconded by 
the action of the legislature, placed at the disposal of the board 
of education .$20,000 to be used for ' ' qualifying teachers for the 
common schools of Massachusetts." The mode of expending the 
money was not specified, the responsibility of success or failure 
was lodged with the board. The debates held are not within our 
knowledge ; the questions debated are left on record : ' ' Shall the 
board concentrate its efforts and expend its funds upon a single 
school? Shall it create pedagogical departments in existing 
academies? Shall the normal schools first opened be for women 

( 268 ) 



STATE NOBMAL SCHOOL 

alone, or for men alone, or for each in separate schools'? Shall 
the two be trained in the same school ? ' ' 

The board decided as an experiment to locate three schools, 
separate from other institntions, in snch places as would accom- 
modate different sections of the state, and to provide for the 
education of men and of women in the same school or in separate 
schools, as the sentiment of the community in which the school was 
to be located and other conditions should determine. The title 
Normal was applied in accordance with the usage of Prussia in 
designating her schools for the special education of teachers. The 
studies first in order to be pursued in the Normal schools were 
those then required by law to be taught in the district schools, 
viz., orthography, reading, writing, English grammar, geography 
and arithmetic. "When these are thoroughly mastered," con- 
tinues the official announcement, "those of a higher order will be 
progressively taken. ' ' The announcement farther affirms : ' ' Any 
person washing to remain at the school more than one year, in 
order to increase his qualifications for teaching a public school, 
may do so, having first obtained the consent of the principal ; and 
therefore a further course of study is marked out. The whole 
course, properly arranged, is as follows : 

"1. Orthography, Eeading, Grammar, Composition and 
Rhetoric, Logic. 

"2. Writing, Drawing. 

"3. Arithmetic, mental and written. Algebra, Geometry, 
Bookkeeping, Navigation, Surveying. 

"4. Geography, ancient and modern, with Chronology, Sta- 
tistics and General History. 

"5. Physiology. 

"6. Mental Philosophy. 

' ' 7. Music. 

"8. Constitution and History of Massachusetts and of the 
United States. 

"9. Natural Philosophy and Astronomy, 

"10. Natural History. 

"11. The principles of Piety and Morality common to all 
sects of Christians. 

( 269 ) 



OVB COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

"12. 21ie Science and Art of Teaching with reference to all 
the above named studies. 

"A portion of the Scriptures shall be read daily in every 
Normal school. A selection from the above course of studies will 
be made for those who are to remain at the school but one year, 
according to the particular kind of school it may be their inten- 
tion to teach.'" 

To each Normal school was to be attached "an experimental 
or model school," in which pupils of the Normal school could 
apply their knowledge and be trained to teach. 

The board, aware that they were entering a field untried in 
America hitherto, used their best endeavors to secure the right 
men for principals. 

Samuel P. Newman, professor of rhetoric and political econ- 
omy in Bowdoin college, Brunswick, Maine, was elected principal 
of the Barre school. In connection with the official notice of the 
opening of the school, September 14, 1839, occurs this description 
of Mr. Newman : 

' ' Mr. Newman is already extensively known to the public as 
the author of a work upon rhetoric, which is used as a text book 
in many of the schools, academies and colleges of the United 
States: and also of a treatise upon political economy which has 
passed through many editions. We learn that he has been very 
popular as professor in Bowdoin college. For several years he 
officiated as president of that institution, and he is now discharg- 
ing the duties of that office. Mr. Newman therefore brings to his 
new station long experience, and a high and well earned reputa- 
tion. We are happy farther to state that such are his general 
views of the importance of improved means of education, for the 
great body of the people, that he regards the office of principal of 
a Normal school, as neither less dignified in its character, nor less 
elevated in its objects, than that to which his life has been hith- 
erto devoted— believing that any station Avhich aims at the wel- 
fare and improvement of large numbers of mankind, cannot be 
less honorable or elevated than an office which, though it may give 
its possessor the power of conferring higher privileges, limits 
those privileges to a few. ' ' 

( 270 ) 



STATE N0B3IAL SCHOOL 

The third Normal school, that at Bridgewater, was not 
opened until a year after that at Barre. Nicholas Tillinghast, a 
graduate of the V. S. INIilitary academy at West Point, was urged 
by i\Ir. Mann to become its principal. After serious considera- 
tion, and with great reluctance, ]\Ir. Tillinghast decided to accept 
the post. He had held command in the west and southwest for 
five years, had taught natural sciences and ethics in the academy 
for six years, and had resigned his place in the army 'Ho enter" 
as a teacher of a private school in Boston "upon more congenial 
work.'' It was a tribute to the esteem in which Mr. Newman 
was held that J\Ir. Tillinghast should spend at Barre six months 
in studying methods and in planning his work previous to the 
opening of the Bridgewater school. It would seem that the pre- 
eminence of the AYestfield school, which was often recognized in 
after years, was evident in its earliest years at Barre. 
"Hither, as to their fountain, other stars, 
Repairing, in their golden urns, draw light." 

The progressive measures pushed by the tireless and invin- 
cible secretary of the board of education, while animating the 
zeal of the intelligent friends of popular education, excited the 
opposition of those who clung to what they termed "good old 
ways," and saw no need of changing the old order by introducing 
"new f angled notions," as the new measures were called. A 
change in the political affairs of the state gave the opposition an 
opportunity. 

Quite exceptional to the usual election of a whig governor 
was the election of Marcus Morton, a democrat. Governor Ever- 
ett retired, having served four years in succession. With unmis- 
takable zeal he had co-operated with the board of education and 
their ardent secretary, in establishing the Normal schools and in 
promoting other progressive measures. 

Horace Mann, commenting in the Common School Journal, 
which at that time he edited, upon the inaugural of Governor 
Morton, commends it. Its tone was not clearly opposed to the 
policy of his predecessor, yet it is now easy to see that there was 
material in it satisfactory to the narrow conservatives of Morton's 
party. He says: "The system of free schools, which has been 

( 271 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

transniittt'd from generation to generation, has improved in its 
progress and is no\v in a high degree of perfection." This last 
clause shoAvs a flight of the imagination equalled only by the con- 
trasted facts collated by Secretary Mann. Again, speaking of 
the common schools, the governor says : '"In the town and dis- 
trict meetings, those little pure democracies, where our citizens 
first learn the rudiments and the practical operations of free 
institutions, may safely and rightly be placed the direction and 
the government of these invaluable seminaries." 

On the third of iNlarch, 1840, the committee on education 
were directed by an order of the house to consider the expediency 
of abolishing the board of education and the Normal schools and 
to report by bill or otherwise. The majority of the committee 
brought in a lengthy report setting forth among other grievances 
that "if the Board of Education has any power, it is a dangerous 
power, trenching directly upon the rights and duties of the legis- 
lature; if it has no power Avhy continue its existence at the ex- 
pense of the connnonwealth ? . . . The establishment of the 
board of education seems to be the connnencement of a system of 
centralization and monopoly of power in a few hands, contrary, 
in every respect to the true spirit of our democratic institutions ; 
and which, unless speedily checked, may lead to unlooked-for and 
dangerous results." The next point of attack was the plan of 
the board to place a little library in every district. Then oc- 
curred the views of the committee respecting Normal schools. 
"It appears to your committee, that every person who has himself 
undergone a process of instruction nnist acquire by that very 
process the art of instructing others. This certainly will be the 
ease with every person of intelligence ; if intelligence be wanting, 
no system of instruction can supply its place. Considering that 
our district schools are kept on an average for only three or four 
months in the year, it is obviously impossible, and, perhaps, it is 
not desirable, that the business of keeping these schools should 
become a distinct and separate profession which the establishment 
of Normal schools seems to anticipate." 

After urging much more in a similar strain, the report closed 
by presenting a bill entitled, "An act to Abolish the board of 

( 272 ) 



STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 

education." This act included provisions for abolishing the 
Normal schools and for returning to Edmund Dwight the $10,000 
he had generously given for qualifying teachers for common 
schools. For some days the conservatives seemed sure of victory ; 
but a minority report by John A. Shaw, member of the hou.se 
from Bridgewater, and Thomas A. Greene, ably supported by 
documents from George B. Emerson and by other evidence of the 
excellent work of the Normal schools, seems to have restored the 
good sense of the legislature. The bill reported by the majority 
of the connnittee was defeated by a vote of 182 to 148. Another 
attempt equally hostile to the board of education and its valiant 
secretary, was made in 1841 ; but it was promptly defeated by the 
vote of the house. Never after did organized opposition show so 
bold a front, and those who were striving for the inqn'ovement of 
the public schools went forward with a firmer step. 

The Normal school at Barre suffered great loss in the death 
of Principal Newman in 1842. It was not easy to find a suitable 
successor and the school was suspended. Seventy-five young men 
and ninety young women had been connected with the school — 
one hundred and sixty-five in all. The experimental stage hav- 
ing passed, the board of education began to seek a permanent 
home for the school more accessible to those living in western 
Massachusetts than Barre. The offers of several towns were con- 
sidered. Westfield had the advantage over some others towns 
desiring the school, in that it was on the Western railroad. 

The two men most active and influential, it seems, in bring- 
ing the school to Westfield, were Rev. Emerson Davis, a member 
of the board of education when it was fii'st organized, and Hon. 
William G. Bates, at this time a member of the board. These 
men pledged money in aid of the school, and secured subscrip- 
tions from others. The writer recalls a conversation with Mr. 
Bates, in which he said that at the close of a hot summer day 
spent in the trial of cases in the court room in Springfield, he 
learned that those who had the matter in immediate charge were 
about to locate the school in some other town than Westfield. 
"Not having time," said he, "to obtain a change of linen, even, I 
took the cars for Boston and staid there until it was decided that 

18-1 ( 273 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

the Normal school should be located in Westfield. ' ' What finan- 
cial inducements his devotion to his town led him to make, we 
know not. We may be sure, however, that the man who was then 
the acknowledged leader of the Hampden bar, did not fail to 
cumulate arguments with skill and to enforce them with power. 
The fact that Dr. Davis was in AVestfield and might be prevailed 
upon to take charge of the school until a suitable principal could 
be obtained, received due consideration. 

The school was reopened September 4, 1844, in one of the 
rooms of the Westfield academy. After one term it was removed 
to rooms fitted up for it in the town hall building. Dr. Davis was 
principal and William Clough first assistant. Twenty-three 
young men and twenty-six young women were examined for 
admission. Mv. Clough, a graduate of Yale, and a very thorough 
teacher, remained but one year. P. K. Clarke, a graduate of the 
same college, and for a time a tutor in it, succeeded Mr. 
Clough. Dr. Davis was in the school a part of each day: he 
taught some classes and gave occasional lectures. His large ac- 
quaintance with educational aft'airs, his practical skill and his 
abounding common sense and good judgment proved of great 
value to the school during this somewhat trying period in its his- 
tory. During all the subsequent years of his life, the school had 
no stronger or more helpful friend than Dr. Davis. 

In the meantime, while the school was occupying rooms in the 
town hall, measures were taken to secure a suitable building. 

During the year 1845 a number of public spirited gentlemen 
in Boston agreed to raise .$5,000 for the erection of two Normal 
school buildings— one at Westfield and one at Bridgewater— on 
condition that the legislature would appropriate an equal sum 
for the purpose. The legislature appropriated the additional 
$5,000. The $5,000 to be used in Westfield was increased by con- 
tributions from some of the citizens of Westfield, James Fowler, 
Esq., giving the lot, so that an excellent brick building was erect- 
ed, while the building at Bridgewater was of wood. On the 19th 
of August, 1846, the Bridgewater building was dedicated, INIr. 
Bates giving the dedicatory address. On the 3rd day of Septem- 
ber following. President Humphrey of Amherst college gave the 

( 274 ) 



STATE N0B3IAL SCHOOL 

dedicatory address at the opening of the building in Westfieid. 
In this address he showed the need of better qualified teachers, 
the reasons for their professional education, what this includes, 
and the adaptation of the normal school to accomplish it. The 
closing paragraph, which we quote below, is a just tribute to those 
whose money and whose personal efforts had brought the school to 
Westfieid and secured for it a beautiful building of the simple 
Ionic order, satisfying alike to the eye of the cultured artist and 
the untaught critic, because of its graceful and accurate propor- 
tions. 

' ' Citizens of Westfieid, we congratulate you upon your edu- 
cational enterprise and privileges. Few towns in the common- 
wealth have acted upon a wiser forecast. Besides your primary 
schools, with doors wide open to every child, however poor, you 
have one of the oldest and most flourishing academies in the state 
—not waxing and waning, as many do, but always flourishing 
under able teachers and a supervision which forbids its decline. 
With these high advantages you might have rested satisfied. But 
when the Avestern Normal school was to be permanently located, 
you entered into an honorable competition for the additional 
facilities which it would bring to your doors. Favored by your 
natural advantages, and entitling yourselves by liberal subscrip- 
tions to the preference, you succeeded. The school which had 
been for some time suspended was brought here, and re-opened 
with temporary accommodations, and now this beautiful edifice 
is to receive it. INluch will depend upon your co-operation with 
the board and with the teachers for its prosperity. Upon your 
aid in accommodating the scholars from abroad upon reasonable 
terms, and guarding them against those moral dangers which so 
easily beset the young, we confidently rely. You will not disap- 
point this expectation. You will cherish this seminary as you do 
your schools and academy. To the cause of good learning we 
dedicate it. To the care and benediction of heaven we commend 
it, I\Iay it more than answer the sanguine hopes of its projectors, 
in furnishing teachers of a high order for many generations." 

The building was sixty-two by forty feet, two stories high, 
presenting an entrance at each end under high piazza roofs sup- 

( 275 ) 



OVB COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

ported by Ionic coJuinns. The Noniial school was to occupy the 
second story, the teachers, and pupils' desks being in the central 
room about forty feet square. At each end of this room a door 
opened into a recitation room. The tirst story was similar in its 
arrangement of rooms and was to be occupied by the school of the 
central district as an "experimental or model school." In con- 
sideration of the town occupying these rooms with one of its 
schools, Westfield had appropriated $1,500 to the building fund. 
DaA'id S. Rowe was appointed principal, a graduate of Bow- 
doin college and a teacher of considerable experience. The whole 




First Normal School Building 
Dedicated September, S, 1846 

number of applicants was 55. Of these, 47 — 20 young men and 
27 young women, — were admitted. 

The Normal school thus fairly started on its successful career 
had much to do. Its teachers and its students had all the enthu- 
siasm of those who are setting out on a voyage of discovery or 
entering untrodden ways on an exploring expedition. The writ- 
ings of Pestalozzi and his followers were studied. Descriptions 
of German schools were carefully read as they had been vividly 
outlined by Horace Mann and by others who had visited these 



( 276 ) 



STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 

schools. Ideals were formed, changed, improved. That the 
teacher should teach, and not the text-book, was affirmed, but the 
method of teaching the several studies required in the common 
schools was to be wrought out. While in acquiring knowledge, 
the traditional text book method was continued in the Normal 
school, something" sharply condemnatory of that method was for- 
mulated by teachers and pupils as they prepared and presented 
real teaching exercises in elementary arithmetic, geography, 
natural science and language. The inventive genius of teachers 
and pupils was taxed to the utmost. If some of the devices 
wrought out and noted for future use were afterward found in 
the district school to be more original and curious than suitable, 
they excited interest and were sustained by the enthusiasm of the 
teacher. 

The members of the board were on the alert to lend to the 
Normal schools the lustre of the reputation of illustrious men and 
to enrich the course of study with their thoughts upon educational 
and scientific themes. Guyot, the peerless geographer, author of 
"The Earth and j\Ian," gave new, comprehensive, and profound 
views of the earth : Russell showed the power of literature when 
expressed in appropriate utterance. The Bible read by him took 
on new and impressive meaning. Agassiz, with inexpressible 
charm, led the students to discover wonders in the structure of 
some tiny insect or in a panorama of language and illustration 
presented his clear vision of the massive changes wrought during 
the glacial age. These men, and such as these, gave dignity to the 
Normal school and helped it forward. 

The "Bates Homestead" was the hostel of these distin- 
guished lecturers during their occasional visits, and often Mrs. 
"William (i. Bates by evening receptions acquainted the towns- 
people with eminent men whose names only had hitherto, to most 
of them, been known. 

The people of Westfield cared for the students of the Normal 
school with the same courtesy and kindness that for nearly half a 
century had distinguished f^^ir care of the students of Westfield 
academy. They took them into their families and for less than 
two dollars per week provided the comforts of a pleasant home. 

( 277 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

For those yoiuig ladies who were compelled to live at still cheaper 
rates or forego a course at the school, simply furnished rooms 
were provided in which they boarded themselves. The kindly at- 
tentions of the townspeople to the students were so appreciated 
that it was no uncommon thing for them to come a long way to 
AVestfield, while one of the other Normal schools was near their 
home. For many years the Normal school in Westfield, in num- 
bers, outranked all othera in the state. 

I may not pass without mention the genuine interest in the 
highest welfare of the students shown by the members of the sev- 
eral churches. Mrs. Davis, wife of Dr. Davis, held weekly meet- 
ings for them and other young ladies ; but she did not rely upon 
collective efforts ; she became acquainted with each and led many 
by her words and prayers to begin a christian life. Very many 
students, during all their subsequent lives, cherished her memory 
Avith the tenderest regard. 

The period of Mr. Rowe's administration ended in March, 
1854, when he resigned to become principal of the Irving insti- 
tute, TarrytOAvn, N. Y. This was a tentative period. The course 
of the Normal school in these years, and in many following years, 
was not a way strewn with tlowers. The friends of progressive 
measures had triumphed in the legislature and Horace Mann 
wrought a revolution in public sentiment, so far as it was possible 
for one man to do this ; but conservative opposition, though 
silenced, was ready to assert itself whenever opportunity favored. 
There were not wanting teachers Avho felt that the establishment 
of Normal schools was indeed a recognition of the importance of 
teaching, but who also felt that the Normal school Avas criticising 
and at times eondenming certain modes of procedure in the public 
schools. Such teachers were keen to detect defects in the work 
of the Normal school or in the work of those there trained. The 
opportunities to expose such defects were not wanting. Then 
there Avas yet much scepticism respecting the need of any such 
professional training as Avas proposed. It Avas said, "Every one 
can teach AAhatever he knows." It Avas affirmed that one's own 
school room Avas the only place, and actual experience the only 
means for gaining Avisdom and skill in the management and 

( 278 ) 



STATE NOFMAL SCHOOL 

teaching of children. The value of the normal school was to be 
proved by the excellent teaching of those who had been members 
of the school. This required time. School districts had become 
accustomed to look to the academies to supply their best teachers, 
and from the first, academies had assumed the function of fitting 
teachers for the public schools. The academies had social pres- 
tige. The Normal school had its prestige to gain. In these early 
years of normal schools there was no surplus of applicants, so 
there was little opportunity to select promising candidates or to 
pledge any to a full course of training. 

]Mr. William H. Wells, who succeeded Mr. Rowe as principal 
in 1854, and resigned in 1856, to become superintendent of the 
schools of Chicago, was the first to attempt to form a graduating 
class in the Westfield school, and to secure official diplomas for 
those who completed an authorized course of study. 

Those who gathered in the Normal school were in those early 
days quite diverse, in age, in ability and in acquisitions. Stu- 
dents in the academy had the charm of early youth, those who 
had the age and the manner of schoolma'ams and schoolmasters, 
were not infrequent in the Normal school. In the more fashion- 
able circles, a ' ' normal ' ' was sometimes a term denoting a sort of 
nondescript, or suggesting one of the queer and funny folk im- 
mortalized by Goldsmith in his "Deserted Village," and by Irv- 
ing in his "Legend of Sleepy Hollow." 

Yet in these motley gatherings of students were those who 
had found in teaching what they were fitted by nature to do. 
They had also found ideals of a useful and satisfying life, such 
as to them was discoverable in no other employment. They 
cheerfully endured hardship, grudged no toil, and labored on 
with unlimited patience, if they could but gain additional knowl- 
edge and skill serviceable in teaching. As one became acquainted 
with these students he could but admire their devotion, and, even 
if they were somewhat narrow in their mental vision, one could see 
that it gained in intensity what it lost in breadth. These Normal 
students saw, within the four walls of a district school room, the 
greatest opportunities for developing true manhood and woman- 
hood, for uplifting communities and for helping forward the 

( 279 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

plans of God. To bring such together in a Normal school was 
like bringing Loyola and his companions together at the Univer- 
sity of Paris. It fanned to a flame an enthusiasm that could 
never wane. 

These earnest men and women, in a single generation by their 
work in the schools of the state, proved the value of the Normal 
school, disarmed opposition, and made the people of the state 
willing to provide liberally for the professional ecfuipment of 
teachers. 

In 1856, John AV. Dickinson became principal. During his 
college course, Mark Hopkins, the almost peerless teacher, had 
been his instructor. Mr. Dickinson frequently visited Williams- 
town and conferred with him during the years he had charge of 
the school. Mr. Dickinson 's success as a teacher was in no small 
degree due to President Hopkins. 

Mr. Dickinson had been assistant in the school four years, 
first under Mr. Rowe and afterwards under ]\Ir. Wells. Mr. 
Wells was an organizer. He had arranged the course of study 
and completed the mechanism of the school, so that the way was 
clear to give full attention to the principles and methods em- 
ployed. In developing these he was aided by his associate teach- 
ers. James C. Greenough, who had the experience of a success- 
ful teacher in country district schools, in a village grammar and 
high school, and as principal of the Hacker grammar school in 
the city of Salem, was appointed first assistant principal. Mr. 
Joseph G. Scott became second assistant in 1861. He also since 
leaving the Normal school had won high approval as a teacher. 
Each of these gentlemen at later dates became principal of a Nor- 
mal school. Though the lady assistants were less permanent than 
the assistants named, among them were some of unusual ability. 

The first improvement in the work of the school consisted in 
putting each study into topical form for teaching. This was 
carefully done by each teacher in his own department. These 
topics were arranged in the natural order, if the object was to 
teach elementaiy truth, in the logical order if the object was to 
teach scientific truth. The principal in the meantime was study- 
ing and teaching psychology mainly in the lines of Hamilton, 

( 280 ) 



STATE NOBMAL SCHOOL 

and evolving some general principles of teaching. His severely 
logical mind and concise style were adapted to this work. The 
essential truths of mental activity upon which all true teaching 
depends are principles of teaching. The exposition and applica- 
tion of these principles constitute the philosophy of teaching. 

The Westfield school now began to base all its teaching on 
clearly enunciated principles : this, hitherto, it is believed, had 
never been attempted with like originality and thoroughness in 
any normal school in the country. That the philosophy of 
teaching here evolved Avas complete or perfect, none of its 
framers would ever claim, but here was a philosophy that in one 




School Building, 1860 



normal school put an end to mere empirical haphazard niodas of 
procedure. There had been much genuine teaching of the ele- 
ments of the common branches and of the objects of nature be- 
fore ; but it had been mingled with, and marred by, the misuse 
of books and the continued use of traditional but incorrect 
methods. 

Now, whether an object or a subject was the thing taught, 
principles were recognized in its teaching. For instance, in 
teaching a geometrical form, the form was presented to the pupil, 
not words describing it ; the pupil was led to study it for himself 

( 281 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

under the guidance of the teacher, to express his ideas orally or 
in writing, and was then led to secure correct expressions of his 
ideas, if his expressions were incorrect. In learning a general 
truth the method was the same. The pupil learned the specific 
truths that led to it by his own observation and thought, and for 
himself made inferences by which the general truth was reached, 
being so guided by his teacher as to proceed in proper order and 
reach correct expressions of the knowledge gained. 

One principle recognized in such teaching is, that mental 
activity and knowledge are primarily occasioned by objects of 
thought. As this principle is observed in all true teaching, such 
teaching is termed objective teaching. As the principle that the 
mind gains knowledge, first of the Avhole and then of the parts, 
involving analysis, is also recognized in all true teaching, such 
teaching is termed analytic teaching. Other principles that 
were recognized together with these need not here be stated. The 
Normal school at Westfield it is believed was the first of the nor- 
mal schools of our country to evolve, by the study of the human 
mind, the principles embodied in the Analytic-Objective method 
of teaching and apply them in teaching all objects and subjects 
of a normal course. This method is often called the laboratory 
method. 

The term teaching is commonly applied to processes that are 
quite unlike. It is often applied to lecturing. The lecturer 
studies and presents in his own language to his pupils what he 
has learned. The pupils through the lecturer's statements are 
supposed to apprehend the thought of the lecturer and in subse- 
quent recitation, or in examination, to utter or write it. The 
danger is, that pupils will utter the words of the lecturer with- 
out in their own minds apprehending his thought. The term 
teaching is more properly applied to analytic-objective teaching. 
Since in this teaching the principle is recognized that the mind 
gains a knowledge of specific truths and by thinking of them 
comes to a knowledge of general truths, the method is sometimes 
called the inductive method. As the pupil by this method finds 
truth for himself as he studies, it is called the heuristic method 
of teaching. This name now seems destined to supersede the 

( 282 ) 



STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 

others. It is used in later pedagogical books. Mr. Dickinson 
regarded analytic-objective teaching as the only teaching worthy 
of the name ; all other teaching was but informing. 

The teachers, of the school entertained no antagonism to the 
appropriate use of books as aids to teaching, nor to informing by 
lectures. They held that if the elements and main outlines of 
subjects were taught by the heuristic method, the pupil would 
gain real knowledge, facility in thinking, and definite language 
that would form a reliable basis for the acquisition of supple- 
mentary knowledge by means of books and lectures. 

The method of teaching now adopted in the school was di- 
rectly opposed to the traditional method that fixed the attention 
of the pupil upon verbal statements, in the acquisition of knowl- 
edge. The method was revolutionary and attracted much atten- 
tion. It was in accord with the progressive thought of Eous- 
seau, Pestalozzi and Froebel, then but partially understood. Edu- 
cators from different parts of the country visited the school. E. 
A. Sheldon of the famous Oswego training school came and 
studied it, claiming that by the aid of some of the followers of 
Pestalozzi, he had already applied it in some of his elementary 
teaching, but admitting that he had never before seen it used in 
all the studies of a course, nor employed in a normal school to 
habituate students to the recognition and application of the prin- 
ciples of teaching. E. E. White, from Ohio, a prince of edu- 
cators, in the course of an extended tour for the purpose of ac- 
quainting himself with normal schools, visited the school, and 
affirmed that it was one of the three normal schools in the United 
States. Lowell Mason, who had earned his fame by using a 
similar method in teaching music, was enthusiastic in his appre- 
ciation of this heuristic method. Joseph White, secretary of the 
Board of Education, was active in introducing it into the schools 
of the state, and for this purpose frequently employed teachers 
of the Westfield school in the state institutes. The principal of 
the Normal school at Bridgewater with some of his assistants 
made a prolonged visit to Westfield, and returned to make his 
school foremost in all the excellences of the method. 

Enthusiastically adopted by two of the state Normal schools, 
earnestly presented in the institutes, and by graduates of the nor- 

( 283 ) 



OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE 

mal schools in their teaching, the method began to be widely used. 
Other events contributed to this result. In 1869, the first as- 
sistant principal of the AVestfield school was selected to reopen 
the Connecticut State Normal school at New Britain, and, though 
he aided in selecting some competent graduates of the Westfield 
school for assistants in the Connecticut school, who. with others, 
did much to introduce the method into that school and into the 
other schools of the state, Mr. Cxreenough decided to remain at 
Westfield. In 1871. however, he was elected to open as principal 
the Rhode Island Normal school at Providence, and secured 
graduates of the Westfield school as assistants. Thus the method 
was rooted in the normal schools of Rhode Island and Connecti- 




School Building, 1869 

cut. and by graduates of these and of the Massachusetts schools 
was introduced into the state normal schools and many other 
schools of Northern New England. The graduates of the West- 
field school were also in demand for the Oswego Normal school, 
for other schools in New York and for positions of influence in 
the Avestern states. 

When Mr. Dickinson became secretary of the board of edu- 
cation, in 1877. leaving Mr. Scott principal of the Westfield 
school, the spread of the principles and method of analytic- 
objective teaching, as Mr. Dickinson termed it, received new im- 
pulse. He increased the number and the efficiency of the in- 

( 384 ) 



STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 

stitutes and made them potent in training the teachers of the 
state to a knowledge and to the practice of better methods of 
teaching. It was his custom to open each institute with as clear, 
concise, and simple statement of the principles of teaching as he 
could frame. He then so directed the work of the other teachers, 
that each lesson was an illustration of principles and of their ap- 
plication in teaching. The result was that a simple, natural and 
rational method of teaching was so presented that not only 
teachers, but large numbers of others interested in public instruc- 
tion, came to see clearly and to approve of genuine teaching, and 
became enthusiastic in substituting it for the text-book work, the 
talking and the lecturing, that had hitherto, under the name of 
teaching, had so large a place in the schools of the state. During 
the years of service of Mr. Dickinson as secretary of the board 
of education, the principles and the methods of the AVestfield 
and other normal schools became so well understood and appre- 
ciated, that additional normal schools were desired in several sec- 
tions of the state. One argument used was, that the establish- 
ment of additional normal schools would make them more readily 
accessible to a larger number of those desiring to teach, and con- 
sequently the supply of normal graduates would be increased. 

Had the normal schools already established been made more 
accessible by a system of mileage that would in a sense have 
brought the schools to every town, making it as inexpensive for 
students coming from a distance as for those living near, to at- 
tend ; had the legislators by increased appropriations increased 
the efficiency of the existing schools, making it possible for them 
to provide more complete and advanced courses of instruction — 
had this been done instead of establishing additional normal 
schools, departmental teachers could have been furnished for our 
larger schools, the professional instruction of teachers would 
have been better accomplished, and at less expense, and the in- 
terests of popular education would have been more rapidly ad- 
vanced. 

Some seven years before the retirement of Mr. Dickinson 
from the office of secretary, early in the year 1887, Mr. Green- 
ough became principal of the AVestfield school, Mr. Scott, at his 

( 285 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

own request, repeatedly urged, being restored to his former posi- 
tion, that of first assistant. A biographer of Mr. Scott has justly 
said of him: "A keen and accurate scholar, and well versed in 
all the departments of study, J\Ir. Scott's inclinations led him to 
cultivate, especially, mathematics and the sciences. In the lat- 
ter field, perhaps, was his success most manifest, not alone in 
lifting the school out of the ordinary in the manner of his in- 
struction, but also in kindling enthusiasm in his pupils. 
. . . . It is certain that he strengthened the foundations of 
the school, intensified its mental and moral effects on the pupils, 
and carried its well-known principles to a higher perfection than 
they had before reached." 

When Mr. Ureenough entered uj^on his duties as principal 
of the Normal school he was aware that the time had come when 
a better material equipment must be secured for the school, if 
its future progress was to be assured. Hon. M. B. Whitney, 
of Westfield. for several years chairman of the board of visitors, 
on the part of the board of education, assisted by other mem- 
bers of the board, obtained a legislative appropriation of be- 
tween seven and eight thousand dollars, to be expended in im- 
proving the boarding hall, erected several years before, during 
the administration of Mr. Dickinson. During the summer of 
1887 the improvements Avere made. The principal was already 
urging the imperative need of a new school building. Mr. 
Whitney brought this matter to the notice of the board of edu- 
cation and \vould doubtless have secured their co-operation a 
year earlier than he did, had not a fire in the Normal school 
building at Framingham led the board to concentrate their 
efforts in securing the Framingham school a new building. 

Early in 1889 the committee on education of the house re- 
ported in favor of a new school building for the Normal school 
at Westfield. While the matter was pending before the com- 
mittee, a meeting was held in Springfield of those who were 
anxious to secure a site for the school in that city, to remove it, 
and have the state erect the new building in Springfield. The 
people of Westfield could but regard such a measure as a " viola- 
tion of the obligation of contracts." for persons in Westfield 

( 286 ) 



STATE NORiMAL SCHOOL 

had secured the establishment of the school in that tOAvn by the 
expenditure both of effort and of money. The arguments for 
and against changing the location Avere forcefully presented. 
It was soon evident, however, that the school was to remain in 
Westfield. It may be said that while no account of the remark- 
able influence of the school can omit notice of the ability of its 
teachers, both principals and assistants, something of its unique 
power has been owing to its position. It has developed and has 
done its work independent of any town or city school system. 




Normal School Building, Westtield 

It has been free to realize its best ideals in a community that has 
cherished the school as its own. 

During the hour of debate on the bill for the Westfield 
school, when the bill was before the house, not a word was spoken 
derogatory of the school, but members of the legislature, from 
the eastern and from the middle as well as from the western sec- 
tions of the state, affirmed that they knew the value of this school 
to communities and to the state, by the excellent teachers they 

( 287 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

had known from the school, and that whatever the school needed, 
the state shonld grant. It was an hour of generous recognition, 
an hour of glad triumph to teachers and to the graduates es- 
pecially, who had won this meed of praise. It was an hour of 
unmeasured conipensations and intense emotions to the writer, 
who had toiled many years to upbuild the school and help its 
students. The bill appropriating $150,000 unanimously passed 
the house to be engrossed, and in due time received the approval 
of the senate and the signature of the governor. 

The new building at Westtield was dedicated with appro- 
priate exercises in June, 1892. It had been occupied by the 
Normal school and some departments of the training school, 
some months before. 

It is fitting in this connection to notice the several training 
schools that have from time to time been connected with the 
Normal school. The first building built for the school in West- 
field had rooms on the ground floor for a "model or experimental 
school." 

In 1856 the training school was discontinued. The chil- 
dren were transferred to a new building, built by the town. For 
several years after 1856 the method of practical training in the 
Westfield school, was by each pupil teaching the lesson pre- 
viously assigned, or some part of it, to his classmates as if they 
were children for whom the lesson was prepared. Thus so 
much of the recitation hour as was not given to outlining the 
following lesson by topics, or by teaching or by both, was em- 
ployed by the pupils in teaching. There are strong arguments 
for this constant training in the art of teaching in normal 
classes. It certainly produced effective teachers. It was felt, 
however, that those who are to teach children should obsei've the 
teaching of children and have some practice with them. After 
some years of separation, the children of the central district in 
their several grades became again connected with the Normal 
school, under the name "School of Observation." This school 
rendered valuable service to the Normal school and attracted 
considerable attention. While Mr. Scott Avas principal, the con- 
nection of the Normal school with the "School of Observation" 

( 288 ) 



STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 

was again severed, and the annual appropriation made by the 
legislature, supplementary to the appropriation made by the town 
for this school, was discontinued. 

Mr. Greenough, whom we have seen succeeded Mr. Scott as 
principal early in 1887, planned to have a training school so 
fully under the control of the authorities of the Normal school, 
that really excellent teachers could be retained, all necessary 
equipments secured, and the classes of such size and the super- 
vision such as to furnish ideal opportunities for the practice 
of normal students. The necessity of a training school was one 
of the arguments he employed when urging the need of a new 
normal school building. In this new building provision was 
made for the kindergarten and for several of the lower grades, 
in all, for about 150 pupils. When the new building was com- 
pleted and the rooms for the training school occupied, it was evi- 
dent that the training school, though eminently serviceable, was 
not adequate to the needs of the Normal school. Mr. Greenough 
planned to secure some of the town schools as training schools; 
but to his successor Avas left the honor of securing the extension 
of the training schools. 

Mr. Greenough was principal very nearly ten years. Dur- 
ing this period the course of study was reconstructed, more atten- 
tion was given to strictly professional study, a training school 
including the kindergarten was organized, and a system of prac- 
tical training developed which was adapted to better fit the nor- 
mal student for his work. The boarding hall was improved, the 
attendance of the school was increased, and a new school build- 
ing, admirable in its arrangements, was planned, built, and 
equipped, providing physical, chemical, mineralogical, geolog- 
ical, and biological laboratories. A library, sloyd room and 
gymnasium, beside the elegant hall and fine recitation rooms, are 
also included. Mr. Greenough retired near the beginning of 
the year 1897 and Charles S. Chapin was appointed principal. 
Like his predecessor, he was a college graduate, had pursued a 
course of legal study and had been admitted to the bar, before 
making teaching a life work. Each also had a varied and suc- 
cessful experience in teaching before taking up the work of a 
normal school. 

19-1 ( 289 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Mr. Chapin, aided by his able and loyal corps of assistants, 
accomplished much during the short period, nearly five years, he 
was principal. The beautifvil and commodious building erected 
by the state on the site of the old Normal school building, the 
organization of this well appointed training school, its coui-se of 
study, and the reconstruction of the Normal school course of 
study is largely his work. He has proved himself a successful 
teacher, a good organizer, and a christian gentleman. He re- 
signed his position in Westfield, to take charge of the Rhode 
Island Normal school at Providence in September, 1901. Clar- 
ence A. Brodeur, a gentleman of good scholarship and large pro- 
fessional ability as teacher and superintendent of schools, Avas 
appointed successor to Mr. Chapin. 

Principals 

Samuel P. Newman Sept. 4, 1839-Feb. 10, 1842. 

Emerson Davis Sept. 4, 1844— Sept. 3, 1846. 

David S. Row^e Sept. 3, 1846-March, 1854. 

WiELiAM H. Wells Aug., 1854— April, 1856. 

John W. Dickinson Aug., 1856— Aug., 1877. 

Joseph G. Scott Aug., 1877-Feb., 1887. 

James C. Greenough Feb., 1887 -Nov. 17, 1896. 

Charles S. Chapin Nov. 17, 1896-Sept., 1901. 

Clarence A. Brodeur Sept., 1901—* 

Assistants 

Samuel C. Damon Sept. 4, 1839— 

Nicholas Tillinghast 

Edwin E. Bliss 

Samuel A. Taylor 

James S. Russell 

A. R. Kent 

William Clough Sept., 1844— Sept., 1845. 

P. K. Clarke Sept., 1845-Sept., 1846. 

Rebecca M. Pennell Oct., 1846— July, 1849. 

Lydia N. Mosely March, 1848- July, 1849. 

Sylvester Scott Sept., 1849— March, 1850. 

Jane E. Avery March, 1850— July, 1853. 

Edward G. Beckw^th Aug., 1850— July, 1851. 

George A. Corbin Aug., 1851— Nov., 1851. 

*Now teaching in the school. 

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STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 

AiMiN B. Clapp Nov., 1851— July, 1852. 

John W. Dickinson Aug., 1852— Aug., 1856. 

Almin B. Clapp March, 1853— July. 1853. 

Melissa A. Woodbury Aug., 1853— July, 1854. 

Arexine G. Parsons Aug., 1854— Dec, 1856. 

Eliza C. Halladay Sept., 1855— Feb.. 1860. 

James C. Greenough Aug., 1856 — Sept., 1871. 

Harriet A. Worth Dec, 1856— March, 1857. 

Dora C. Chamberlain March, 1857— July, 1860. 

William B. Green Sept., 1858— Aug., 1860. 

Philo M. Slocum Sept., 1860— Sept. 1861. 

Emeline Parsons Sept., 1860— April, 1864. 

Malvina Mitchell 1863— Sept., 1869. 

Adelaide V. Badger March, 1864— Feb., 1868. 

Joseph G. Scott Nov., 1861 1877. 

Feb., 1887-Feb., 1889. 

Ella E. Catlin 1867— Sept., 1872. 

Elvira Carver Feb., 1868-Sept., 1875. 

Sept., 1877— Jan. 1, 1897. 

Laura E. Prentice Sept.. 1870— Sept., 1887. 

Sarah F. Tobie Sept., 1870— Sept., 1875. 

S. Ella Mole Sept., 1871— Sept., 1875. 

Laura C. Harding Sept., 1872— Jan. 1, 1897. 

J. Silas Diller Sept., 1873— Sept., 1877. 

Alfred C. True Sept., 1875— Sept., 1882. 

Nannette a. Stone Sept., 1875— Sept., 1879. 

Arthur Hinds Sept., 1877— Sept., 1880. 

Sara M. Kneil Sept., 1879— Sept., 1890. 

Walter B. Barrows Sept., 1881 -Sept., 1882. 

Elmer T. Merrill Sept., 1882— Sept., 1883. 

Frederick W. Staebner Sept., 1882— Aug. 1, 1896. 

Frank W. Smith Sept., 1883-Sept., 1896. 

A. C. Longden Sept., 1888— Jan. 1, 1897. 

Frances C. Gaylord Sept., 1890— Sept., 1897. 

Flora White 1893— Aug. 9, 1895. 

Edith L. Cummings Sept.,1895— * 

Charles B. Wilson Sept.. 1896 -* 

Adaline a. Knight Sept., 1896—* 

Will S. Monroe Jan., 1897-* 

Mildred L. Hunter Jan.. 1897 — * 

*Now teaching iu Ihe school. 



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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Teachers of Vocal Music 

Asa Bark Sept., 1844— Sept., 1846. 

Truman Crossett Sept., 1846— Mar., 1852. 

George F. Miller Mar., 1852— Mar., 1858. 

Asa Barr Mar., 1858-Sept., 1860. 

Joseph G. Scott Sept., 1860— Sept., 1875. 

Nannette a. Stone 1875— Sept., 1879. 

Laura C. Harding Sept., 1879— Jan. 1, 1897. 

A. Louise Rogers 1897— Sept., 1898. 

Sterrie a. Weaver Sept., 1898—* 

Teachers of Drawing 

Mrs. a. G. (Parsons) Dickinson . Sept., 1864 1877. 

Nannette A. Stone Part of the year, 1875-1876. 

A. Maria Spalter Sept., 1875— Sept., 1881. 

Clara Wilson Sept., 1881— Sept., 1883. 

Annie R. Slafter Sept., 1883— Sept., 1887. 

Fanny H. Smith Sept., 1887— Jan., 1889. 

Annie N. Sinclair Jan., 1889— Sept., 1894. 

Edith S. Copeland Sept., 1894—* 

Teachers of Penmanship 
Paul W. Allen, now M. D., 

Barnstable, Mass Before 1844. 

John A. Martin Mar., 1849— July, 1849. 

D. F. Brown Jnly, 1849— July, 1851. 

James L. Martin Aug., 1852— Mar., 1857. 

Teachers in the Training School before it Became a Part of the 
Town System, Sept., 1900 

Eunice M. Beebe Feb., 1892—* 

Isabelle W. Gladwin Sept.. 1892— Sept., 1897. 

E. Abbe Clark Sept., 1893-* 

Jennie L. Hale Sept., 1894— Sept., 1897. 

Jean R. Austin Sept., 1897— 

Florence P. Axtelle Sept., 1897—* 

Jennie E. Stoddard Sept., 1898—* 

George S. Woodward Sept., 1899—* 

Kindergarten 

Louise M. Steinweg March, 1892— Sept., 1895. 

Emma L. Hammond Sept., 1895—* 

*Now teaching in the school. 

( 292 ) 



CHAPTER XVIII 
THE HAMPDEN BENCH AND BAR 

(EDITED BY CHARLES L. GARDNER) 

To properly luiderstand and fully appreciate the history of 
the judiciary of any commonwealth, and the worth and attain- 
ments of the magistrates and the practitioners at its bar, some 
knowledge of the origin and development of the machinery and 
spirit of this branch of government is necessary. The sentiment is 
commonly expressed that the judicial system of this common- 
wealth is largely copied or derived from the common law of Eng- 
land and slightly from the civil law of the continent. In many 
respects this is true and resemblances may be traced therein. 
There are certain changeless princii^les running through the laws 
of all nations from the time of Aloses to Victoria, but a close 
study of the history of the laws and judicial practice of the state 
will reveal the fact that they are in a great measure an original 
growth, and dilfer materially from the old systems of Europe. 

In the early history of the colony of Massachusetts Bay the 
governor was in effect the maker, interpreter and enforcer of 
the law, the chief judge of the court of final resort, while his 
assistants and councillors were generally his obedient followers.^ 
The execution of the English and colonial statutes rested with 

^Previous to 1639 the judicial system of the colony was established with the 
following courts : First, the General court, composed of the governor, deputy 
governor, assistants and deputies, sitting twice in each year ; second, the Court 
of Assistants, or Great Quarter courts, composed of the governor, deputy gov- 
ernor and assistants, sitting in lioston four times each year ; and third, the In- 
ferior courts, liept by magistrates, with associates appointed by the general 
court, with the riglit of appeal from Inferior courts to the Court of Assistants, 
and last appeal to the general court. 

( 293 ) 



OLE COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

him, as also did the exercise of royal authority; and it was not 
until after the revolution that he ceased to contend for these 
prerogatives and to act as if the only function of the court was 
to do his bidding as servants and helpers, while the legislature 
should enact only such laAvs as the executive should suggest and 
approve. 

However, let us look briefly at the present arrangement and 
powers of the courts of this state, and then at the elements from 
which they have grown. The whole scheme is involved in the 
idea of first a trial before a magistrate and jury— arbiters, re- 
spectively, of law and fact— and then a review of the facts and 
law by a court of last resort. To accomplish the purposes of this 
scheme there has been devised and established, first, the present 
Supreme judicial court, the ultimate tribunal of the state, per- 
fected in its present form by the conventions of 1779 and 1780, 
and taking the place of the old Superior court of judicature, with 
the same jurisdiction, officers and authority. The work of the 
convention was supplemented by an act passed July 3, 1782, 
entitled "An act to establish a Supreme judicial court within the 
commonwealth,'' to comprise one chief justice and four associ- 
ates, "the whole or any three of them to have cognizance of pleas, 
real, personal, or mixed, and of all civil actions between party 
and party and between the connnonwealth and any of the sub- 
jects thereof, whether the same do concern realty, and relate to 
right of freehold, inheritance or possession ; whether the same do 
concern the personalty and relate to any matter of debt, contract, 
damage or personal injury ; and also mixed actions which do con- 
cern the realty and personalty brought legally before the same 
court by appeal, review, writ of error or otherwise ; and shall 
take cognizance of all capital and other offenses and misdemean- 
ors whatsoever of a public nature, tending either to a breach of 
the peace, or the oppression of the subject, or raising of faction, 
controversy or debate, to any manner of misgovernment ; and of 
every crime ^vhatsoever that is against the public good." 

Under the act referred to the court was authorized to estab- 
lish rules for the conduct of its business, for the admission of 

( 294 ) 



BENCH AND BAR 

attorneys,^ and the creatiou of barristers at law. A subsequent 
act, passed in 1784, gave the court appellate jurisdiction in all 
matters determined in probate courts, when properly before it 
for review, and in 1786 questions of divorce and alimony were 
directed to be heard and determined by its judges. In 1800 the 
number of associates was increased to six, and the state was 
divided into districts. In 1805 the justices were reduced to four, 
and so remained until 1852, when an additional justice was au- 
thorized. Since 1873 the court has comprised one chief justice 
and six associate justices. 

In common with all judicial officers in this commonwealth, 
justices of the Supreme judicial court are appointed by the 
governor, vrith the advice and consent of the council, and hold 
office during good behavior. They are removable at any time 
"upon the address of the general court." The legislature from 
time to time has changed the jurisdiction of the justices of this 
court when holding circuit terms, and in recent years there has 
been a tendency to relieve it of many of its old-time cases by 
transferring them to the Superior court, and thus establishing 
the highest tribunal in the state as a court of appellate jurisdic- 
tion only. The justices still perform circuit duties, yet the cases 
presented chiefly relate to equity- and the dissolution of corpo- 
rate bodies, both of which might better be disposed of in the in- 

^Tbe judiciary act of 1782 gave to ttie Supreme judicial court authority to 
create barristers at law and to regulate the admission of attorneys. The for- 
mer office was one of great dignity and importance, and only men "learned in the 
law" were admitted to its privileges. No barristers were "called" after 1789, 
and in 1806 the court adopted a rule to the effect that "no attorney shall do the 
business of a counsellor unless he shall have been made or admitted as such by 
this court ;" and also, "all attorneys of this court who have been admitted three 
years before the sitting of this court shall be and hereby are made counsellors 
and are entitled to all the rights and privileges of such ;" and further, "no at- 
torney or counsellor shall hereafter be admitted without a previous examina- 
tion." In 1836 the distinction between attorney and counsellor was abolished. 
John Worthington. who was one of the most prominent characters in early his- 
tory in what is now Hampden county, was a barrister previous to 1768. Moses 
Bliss and .Tonathau Bliss also were barristers, but of later date in local annals. 

2 A Court of Chancery was established in the colony in 168.j. and its powers 
and jurisdiction were vested in the County court magistrates. The act of 1682, 
establishing judicatories, provided for a high Court of Chancery with power and 
authority to hear and determine all matters of equity not relievable by common 
law, the court to l)e hf)lden by the governor or such person as he should appoint 

( 295 ) 



01 B COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

ferior court. "Matters of divorce" were transferred in 1887. 
and jurisdiction in capital cases was likewise transferred in 1891. 
All appeals from the judgment of tlie Superior court are deter- 
mined in the Supreme judicial court. 

Tlie Superior court of judicature, which passed out of exist- 
ence with the adoption of the constitution, was an heirloom of the 
colonial period, established under the first charter and survived 
the sweeping changes of the second. The court was originally 
created by an act of the colonial legislature in 1682, and com- 
prised one chief justice and four other justices, with power to 
hear and determine all plaints, pleas and causes to the same 
extent as the English courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas and 
Exchequer, except, perhai)s, in the exercise of general equity 
powers, which ^vas reserved to the governor and his assistants, 
as an especial prerogative, and to the Chancery court. 

In subsequent years the old Superior court was subjected to 
many changes, but did not lose its identity at any time. As con- 
stituted under Dudley it was known as the "Superior court" and 
comprised three judges, who were to sit three times yearly in 
Boston. Under Andros, who came into the office in 1686, the 
court was re-established under its original name, with jurisdic- 
tion in civil and criminal matters. Terms of court were to be 
held in all the counties, the sittings in Hampshire county to be 
held alternately at Springfield and Northampton. The last ses- 
sion of the court under the charter was held in 1774, and during 
the period of the revolution every element of government that 
smacked of royalty was thrust aside, and the affairs of the colo- 
nists were entrusted to the provincial congress and the commit- 
tees of safety. 

Second to the Supreme judicial court in rank and jurisdic- 
tion stands tlie Superior court, the most useful and popular 
judicial body in the connnonwealth, and the successor to the old 
court of common pleas. It was established April 5, 1859, with 

as chancellor, assisted by eight or more of the council. This act was disallowed 
by the privy council, and in fact the court was very unpopular in the province, 
the freemen claiming that the crown had no right to establish an equity court 
in the colony. 

( 296 ) 



BENCH AND BAR 

one chief justice and tea associates. The number of associates 
was increased to eleven in 1875. to thirteen in 1888, to fifteen in 
1892. and to seventeen in 1898. 

Originally the Superior court had only the jurisdiction that 
previously was vested in the connnon pleas, but the legislatui-e in 
later years extended and broadened its powers until it became 
the chief instrumentality for the attainment and enforcement of 
rights and the redress of grievances in the history of Massachu- 
setts jurisprudence. In 1887 it was given exclusive jurisdiction 
"in all cases of divorce and nullity or validity of marriage;'' in 
1891 was given jurisdiction in all capital cases, and in 1893 its 
scope was further extended to include cases relating to telegraph 
and telephone wires, in matters relating to corporate powers, the 
maintenance and use of public buildings, the control of street 
railroads, etc., all of which formerly were under the supervision 
of the Supreme judicial court. Appeals from the district, police, 
municipal and justices courts are determined in the Superior 
court, and, in turn, appeals from the Superior court are taken to 
the Supreme judicial court. 

The Superior court traces its history directly to the Court 
of common pleas, and through it indirectly to the old Inferior 
court of common pleas, the latter having been originally estab- 
lished under the name of the Inferior court in 1635-6 and more 
clearly defined as to powers and jurisdiction in 1639. Appeals 
lay from it to the Court of assistants, and from the latter to the 
General court. In 1642 it was ordered that "all causes between 
party and party shall first be tried in some inferior court," and. 
accordingly, nearly all causes were first brought to issue in the 
old Inferior court ; hence the derivation of the broad powers of 
the present Superior court. 

In 1682 the general court passed "An act for the holding of 
courts of justice," and established County courts or Inferior 
courts of common pleas, with both civil and criminal sides. The 
act, hoAvever, was "disallowed" because of a distinction in the 
manner of appointing justices in the several counties, deeming 
that it interfered with the prerogative of the general court. The 
court went into effect in 1692, and the act of confirmation pernia- 

( 297 ) 



01 R COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

nently establishing it under the name of Inferior court of com- 
mon pleas was passed June 27, 1699. From that time it was the 
popular tribunal of the commonwealth until abolished in favor 
of the Superior court in 1859. 

Next in inferiority to the Superior court are the municipal, 
Police and District courts, with both civil and criminal jurisdic- 
tion, and established by the legislature from time to time as the 
necessities of the several counties have demanded. These courts, 
which virtually are alike in powers and jurisdiction, are the out- 
growth of the trial justices courts and the still older courts of 
justices of the peace, the latter dating from the time of the 
colonial government.^ 

By an act of the legislature passed May 3, 1850, the gover- 
nor, with the advice and consent of the senate, was authorized to 
appoint suitable persons in each county to be trial justices, with 
the same powers and jurisdiction as justices of the peace, and to 
hold office seven years. At the same time the ci\dl and criminal 
jurisdiction of justices of the peace was taken away, and when 
any of them issued warrants the latter were to be made returnable 
before a trial justice. However, in 1851, the act of the preceding 
year was repealed and the old-time authority of justices of the 
peace was restored. In 1852 the powers of justices of the peace, 
also of justices of municipal and police courts, were extended, 
and in certain cases were made concurrent with the powers of the 
common pleas, having cognizance of cases in which the damages 
claimed did not exceed $100, and having authority to try civil 
causes Avith a jury of six men when the claim was not less than 
$20, and not more than $100. 

This system of procedure in the inferior courts was contin- 
ued until 1858, Avhen an act of the legislature authorized the 
governor to designate a suitable number of justices of the peace 
in the several counties to try criminal cases, and in the next year 
a further act declared the officers so appointed to be known as 

^Courts of Justices of the Peace were first provided for in the "Act establish- 
ing judicatories and courts of justice within the province." The act was passed 
Nov. 25, 1692. was disallowed by the privy council in 1695 and was revived by 
the act of 1697. 

( 298 ) 



BENCH AND BAR 

trial justices. Under the act first mentioned Hampden county 
was allowed eight trial justices, chosen to suit the convenience of 
the inhabitants of the county. In 1876 trial by jury in civil 
actions and other proceedings in municipal, district and justices 
courts was abolished, but the aggrieved party was granted the 
right to appeal to the Superior court in special designated cases. 

By an act passed in 1877 nearly all the power which then 
remained in the old justices court was swept away by the legisla- 
ture, and thenceforth its magistrates were denied authority or 
jurisdiction in civil cases, or to receive complaints or to issue 
warrants; and this power was vested in the remaining trial jus- 
tices, also in the municipal, district and police courts. But at 
length the office even of trial justice, so far at least as concerned 
Hampden county, was merged in the police and district courts 
and became virtually extinct, and thereafter all justices of the 
peace in any tangible condition of authority were unknown in 
the annals of the law. The office was descended from the Eng- 
lish office of the same name, but was far less important, and in 
this state it existed under the colony, both charters and the con- 
stitution. For more than two centuries it was the creature of the 
statute, and at one time was a position of power and importance, 
its incumbent being dignified with the title of "squire ;" but with 
the loss of much of its old-time power it also lost all of its former 
dignity. 

In 1858 Police courts were granted concurrent jurisdiction 
with the common pleas, and in 1876 the legislature granted to 
municipal, district and police courts concurrent jurisdiction with 
the Superior court in special cases. All appeals from these in- 
ferior courts are taken to the Superior court. 

A Police court in the town of Springfield was established by 
the legislature March 6, 1850. In April, 1874, the jurisdiction 
of the court was extended to include the towns of Wilbraham 
(originally a part of the eastern district) Agawam, Hampden 
(created 1878). Longmeadow and West Springfield. East Long- 
meadow, when made a separate town, was added to the district. 

The Police court of Chicopee was established May 21, 1855. 

The Police court of Holyoke was established April 8, 1871. 

( 299 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

The District court of Eastern Hampden was established 
April 29, 1872, and included Avithin its jurisdiction the towns of 
Palmer, Brimfield, Monson, Holland, Wales and AVilbraham, the 
latter being transferred to the district of the Springfield Police 
court in 1874. Courts in this district are held in Palmer. 

The District court of Western Hampden was established 
May 6, 1886. and included within its jurisdiction the towns of 
Westfield. Chester. (Jranville. Southwick, Russell, Blaudford. 
Tolland and Montgomery. Courts are held in Westfield and 
Chester. 

Probate courts, oue of which exists in each county in the 
state, are courts of record and their special jurisdiction is the care 
and settlement of estates and the guardianship of infants. In 
Massachusetts this court traces its origin to the early colonial 
period.when all matters of probate were settled in the old County 
court, established in 1639 : but the derivation of powers and prac- 
tice of the Probate court in this state is from the Ecclesiastical 
court of England, also from the Court of Orphan Masters, the 
Prerogative court and the Court of Probates. 

The County court was established previous to the incorpora- 
tion of counties in the connnonwealth. and was merely the old 
Inferior court with a new name and more clearly defined powers. 
It retained its jurisdiction in matters of probate throughout the 
colonial period, except during the presidency of Joseph Dudley 
and the governorship of Sir Edmund Andros. The former first 
assumed probate jurisdiction and delegated bis powers in some of 
the counties to judges of his own appointment. In matters relat- 
ing to estates of more than fifty pounds value Andros assumed 
sole authority, but in minor estates he too delegated powers to the 
judges. After Andros was deposed the old methods were re- 
sumed and were continued until the union of the colonies. Under 
the second charter (1692) probate affairs were placed in the 
hands of the governoi- and council, who claimed and exercised the 
right to appoint both judges and registers of probate in the sev- 
eral counties. In its present form, with almost continuous sit- 
tings, the Probate court^ affords a cheap and expeditious medium 

iRy special dispensation of the legislative power the Probate judge in each 
county also is judge of the Court of Insolvency. The offices are entirely dis- 

( 300 ) 



BENCH AND BAR 

for the care and .settlement of estates and the guardianship of 
infants. 

The old Court of General Sessions of the peace was the third 
court established in the colon}-, and was created in 1699, to be 
held in each county by justices of the peace, who were empowered 
to hear and determine "all matters relating to the conservation 
of the peace.'' The court was continued under the constitution 
and was not materially changed until 1807, when an act of the 
legislature provided that futux^e sessions should be held in Hamp- 
shire county by one chief justice and six associates, who were to 
act as the General court of sessions and not in their minor capac- 
ity of justices of the peace. In 1809 the jurisdiction of the court 
was transferred to the Court of common pleas, but in 1811 the 
Court of sessions was revived and continued three years, when it 
again was merged in the common pleas. The act of 1814 provid- 
ed for the appointment of tAvo persons in each county to be ses- 
sion justices of the Circuit court of common pleas in their respec- 
tive counties, "to sit with the justices of the Circuit court in the 
administration of all matters within their county over which the 
Court of sessions had jurisdiction." From 1814 to 1819 county 
affairs were administered by the Circuit court of common pleas, 
and in the year last mentioned the Court of sessions was re-estab- 
lished with a chief justice and two associates in each county. 
The court was continued in Hampden county until 1828, when 
the administration of county affairs was placed in the hands of 
three county commissioners, and the old judicial body passed out 
of existence. 

This brief survey of the courts of this conunonwealth. which 
omits only those that are purely local in character, gives the read- 
er some idea of the machinery provided for the use of the bench 
and bar at the time of the creation of Hampshire county in 1662, 
and also at the time of the organization of Hampden county, a 
century and a half afterward. 

In the latter part of 1635 a representation was made to the 
general court, sitting at "'New Towne, " that several friends, 

tlnct in jurisdiction, powers, proceedings and practice, but have tlie same judge 
and register. The offices were merged In 1858. 

( 301 ) 



OUE COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

neighbors and freemen, "with other men of quality now in Eng- 
land," are "resolved to transplant themselves and their estates to 
the Ryver of Conecticott, there to reside and inhabite ; and that 
there may be, upon occasions, some causes of difference, and also 
dyvers misdemeanors, which will require a speedy redresse." 
Upon this presentation the general court ordered that AYilliam 
Pj-nchon, William Phelps and others be clothed with authority 
to hear and determine in a judicial w-ay all causes of ditference 
arising in the new colony ; to inflict corporal punishment or im- 
prisonment ; to fine, levy and collect the same, "soe as shall be for 
the peaceable and quiet ordering of the affairs of the plantation 
for the space of one year." 

In pursuance of its determination this devout band of our 
ancestors made a settlement on the site of the city of Springfield 
and there founded a colony in the year 1636. Frequent acces- 
sions were made to their number and in the course of a few years 
the outposts of settlement had extended up and down the valley 
and westward into the i-egions of Woronoco or the West Fields — 
Westfield. 

Thus was founded in an unpretentious yet effective way the 
crude judicial system upon which was built the more substantial 
structure of later years. William Pynchon administered justice, 
not the law, for the space of a dozen yeai's and then fell into dis- 
repute with the general court through the authorship of a book 
which was declared to promote heretical doctrines in the colony. 
The book itself was condemned and ordered burned and the 
author was brought to bar to answer grave charges of disseminat- 
ing false and dangerous theories. 

The accused magistrate appeared in the council in 1651. 
admitted the authorship of the book, and being permitted to 
confer with the elders present, he persuaded them that he was 
guiltless of wrong intent (although not a lawyer himself Mr. 
Pynchon possessed the attributes of a successful advocate) and 
removed from their minds the worst construction they had placed 
upon his work : and with such logic did he prevail upon the coun- 
cil that he was permitted to depart unpunished, though he was 
shorn of his judicial power in the plantation and was succeeded 
by his son-in-law\ Henry Smith, of Springfield. 

( 302 ) 



BENCH AXD BAR 

In a primitive way the pioneers of the Connecticut valley 
maintained courts of justice and upheld the dignity of the law 
through the early colonial period, though neither record nor tra- 
dition furnishes any reliable evidence that more than informal 
courts were established, and there is no record by which we may 
discover whether any barristers were present at court sittings 
previous to the creation of Hampshire county in 1662. 

The history of the judiciary in what is now Hampden county 
dates from the time of AVilliam Pynchon, yet there was no resi- 
dent bar until after the second charter in 1692. the year of the 
union of the colonies. Hampshire county, the original formal 
jurisdiction which included within its limits the entire western 
region of Massachusetts, was created May 7, 1662. the act provid- 
ing that Springfield, Northampton and Hadley should form a 
new county, and that courts should be held alternately in Spring- 
field and Northampton. Three years later it was ordered that 
county courts "be held and attested" by Capt. John Pynchon, 
one of the magistrates, and that Henry Clark, Lieut. William 
Clarke, Eleazer Holyoke and Lieut. Samuel Smith should assist 
Captain Pynchon in "keeping the county courts." 

According to established records, the first court in Spring- 
field was held March 27, 1660, under the first charter, and that 
august body assembled beneath the hospitable roof of William 
Pynchon. The act creating Hampshire county declared Spring- 
field to be the shire town, and thus it continued until 1792, when 
the seat of justice was removed to Northampton. From that time 
until 1812, when Hampden county was created, Springfield was 
only a center of trade in an agricultural region, but it neverthe- 
less was a thriving village with constantly increasing interests, 
and eventually was destined to outstrip all rivals and take rank 
with the important cities of New England. 

In 1826 George Bliss, of the old Hampden bar, prepared a 
list of lawyers of the mother county from 1786 to 1826 : and inas- 
much as the list contains the names of many lawyers who were 
prominent in the annals of the Hampden bar in later years, the 
same is reproduced here as a valuable historical roster. 

( 303 ) 



OUR COIXTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

*'A list of the attorneys and counsellors, either admitted to 
the bar in the county of Hampshire or practicing in that county 
from 1786 ot 1826 : Elihu Lyman, Moses Bliss, Simeon Strong, 
Theodore Sedgwick, Caleb Strong, Justin Ely, John Phelps, Sam- 
uel Fowler. AVilliam Billings. John Chester Williams, Abner Mor- 
gan, Edward Walker, John Chandler Williams, Alexander Wol- 
eott, Samuel Lyman, Pliny Mirrick, Samuel Hinckdey, John 
Hooker. Ephraim Williams. John Barrett, Samuel Mather, 
George Bliss, Joseph Lyman. John Taylor, William Coleman, 
Jonathan E. Porter. Simeon Strong, William Ely, John Phelps, 
Eli P. Ashmnn. Jonathan Levitt. Elijah Paine, Stephen Pynchon, 
John IngersoU, Solomon Stoddard. AYilliam M. Bliss, Richard E. 
NeAveomb, Jonathan CTrout. Hezekiah W. Strong, Charles P. 
Phelps, Samuel Lathrop, Elijah Bates, Solomon Vose, Jonathan 
Dwight, jr., Jothan Cushman, Benjamin Parsons. Edward Eup- 
ham. Jonathan Woodbridge, Joseph Proctor. Samuel Dickinson, 
Phineas Ashmun. Joseph Bridgman. Sylvester Maxwell, William 
Billings, Elijah H. Mills, Pliny Arms, Elijah Alvord, Samuel C. 
Allen, Theodore Strong, Edmund Dwight, Oliver B. Morris, 
Henry Barnard, (^iles E. Kellogg, Charles Shepard. John Nevers, 
James M. Cooley, Solomon Strong. Alvin Coe, Noah D. Mattoon, 
Isaac C. Bates, Jonathan H. Lyman, John ]\L Cannett, Lewis 
Strong. Alanson Knox. Asahel Wright. Mark Doolittle, Samuel 
Orne, Hooker Leavitt, Samuel Howe, Phineas Blair. Samuel Cut- 
ting, Isaac M. Barber, Laban Marcy, Israel Billings, Deodatus 
Dutton, Apollos Cushman, Rodolphus Dickinson. Edward Bliss, 
Daniel Shearer, Calvin Peppei', William Blair, George H. Hen- 
shaw, James Stebbins, William Ward, George Grennell, David 
Willard, Horace W. Taft, John Drury, Franklin Ripley, Thomas 
Power, Augustus Collins, Dyer Bancroft, Warren A. Field, Pat- 
rick Boise, John Mills, John Hooker, jr., William Knight, John 
Howard, Benjamin Day, Joshua N. Upham. George Bliss, jr.. 
Justice AYillard, Charles F. Bates, Solomon Lathrop, William 
Bowdoin. Ilophni Judd. Ithamar Conkey. Norman Smith. James 
Fowlei', Elisha Hubbard, Eli B. Hamilton, Daniel Wells, Samuel 
AYells, Alfred Stearns, Caleb Rice, Jonathan A. Saxton. Freder- 
ick A. Packard, Lucius Boltwood. Jonathan Eastman. Waldo 

( 304 ) 



BENCH AND BAR 

Flint, Charles E. Forbes, Cyrus Joy, David Briyhani, Aarou 
Arms, Joseph P. Allen, Benjamin Brainartl, Jonathan Hartwell, 
David A. Uregg, Epaphres Clark, Benjamin Mills, Timothy C. 
Cooley, John B. Cooley, Asa Olmstead, Horace Smith, Joshua 
Levitt, Mason Shaw, Elisha Mack, John H. Ashnuin, Samuel F. 
Lyman, Justin AV. Clark, Horatio Byington, Emory Washburn, 
Horatio G. Newconib, William B. Calhoun, Josiah Hooker, Will- 
iam Bliss, Erasmus Xorcross, Daniel N. Deury, Myron Lawrence, 
James W. Crooks, Richard E. Morris, Dan Parrish, Homer Bart- 
lett, Osmyn Baker, Elijah Williams, Francis B. Stebbins, Norman 
T. Leonard, Reuben A. Chapman, George Ashmun, Henry Chap- 
man, Stephen Emory, Edward Dickinson, Andrew A. Locke. ' ' 

While the foregoing list purports to be and in fact is a regis- 
ter of the Hampshire bar for the time indicated, it also represents 
the strength of the Hampden bar during the same period, for at 
all times between the years 1786 and 1826 the region now com- 
prising Hampden county was as well peopled and as fully devel- 
oped as any portion of the mother county ; and while Springfield 
was deprived of the honor of being even a half-shire town be- 
tAveen 1792 and 1812, it nevertheless was the most important com- 
mercial center in the Connecticut valley during that brief period. 

Hampden county was created by an act of the legislature, 
passed February 25, 1812, the act to take effect August 1st, fol- 
lowing. Thus a new and important civil division of the state was 
brought into existence, and it has grown into one of the most 
productive and wealthy counties of Ncav England of the present 
time. It has sent to the legislative halls of the commonwealth 
and to the congress of the United States its ablest statesmen : men 
of character, men of worth, men whose mental qualities have 
made them famous both in state and national history. And be it 
said to their enduring memory and honor, that by far the greater 
number of these worthy representatives have been taken f i-om the 
ranks of the legal profession. 

Although the first session of the court in Springfield was held 
as early as 1660 more than sixty years passed before a court house 
M-as provided, the first having been erected in 1722-3 at the expense 
of the town of Springfield. The second court house was built in 

20-1 ( 305 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

1821, and the third, the present Hampden county eoiii't house, in 
1870-71. The latter was dedicated with formal ceremonies, April 
28, 1874, on which occasion AVilliam (I. Bates delivered an ex- 
haustive historical address on the judiciary and the bar of the 
county. 

Hampden county as a civil division of Massachusetts is near- 
ly four score and ten years old, and during that comparativeh^ 
brief period its record of progress has been remarkable -. but in no 
branch of life in the region has there been developed greater 
ability, mental and moral worth and integrity of character, than 
in the ranks of the legal profession. In the past history of the 
Hampden bar there has been little to condemn and much to com- 
mend, and it is doubtful if any county in all this grand common- 
wealth can furnish a professional record more clear and bright or 
one less tarnished with unworthy practices. 

As an evidence of the regard in which the Hampden bar is 
held in legal circles in the state we may quote the words of one of 
the justices of the Superior court residing in the eastern part of 
Massachusetts, to the effect that during his experience on the 
bench lie found that "cases were tried better and closer in Hamp- 
den county than in any other county in the state." 

Tlie Bench. — At the time of the creation of Hampden county 
the old Superior court of judicature had passed out of existence 
and in its place there had been established the Supreme judicial 
court. The only representative of the county bar who attained to 
the dignity of the chief justiceship of this court was Reuben At- 
water Chapman, who was appointed to that high office in 1868 
and served until his death in 1873. 

Chief Justice Chapman was a native of Hampden county, 
born in the town of Russell in 1801. In that remote part of the 
county, where the lands then were new and undeveloped, he had 
little opportunity to gain an education in the schools, for his 
parents, like nearly all other settlers, were poor and dependent 
on their own exertions to provide even the necessaries of domestic 
life. Notwithstanding this the young man not only did succeed 
in acquiring knowledge himself, but at the age of seventeen he 
taught the children of the ncighl)orhood in the district school. 

( 306 ) 




Chief Jvistice Reuben ^Atwater^Chapnian 
Born in Russell, ISept. 20, 1801. Died in Switzerland, June 28, 187a 



Oih' COLMY AXD ITS PEOPLE 

Afterward he fouiitl (']ii|)l(iyiiieiit as elei-k in a store, and having 
joined a debating society in tlie rural village, his native oratorical 
and argumentative abilities first found root and began to develop, 
and he soon beeanie known as one of the most promising young 
men in the vicinity. When he had saved a little money he began 
the study of law under the instruction of Gen. Alanson Knox, of 
Blandford, and during the course of his study period he gained 
an excellent reputation tlu'ough his success in justice court trials. 
In 1825 he was admitted to practice and soon afterward opened 
an office in Westfield. He removed to Monson in 1827. to Ware 
in 1829, and in the next year settled in Springfield and became 
law partner with (Jeorge Ashmun, the famed legal giant of the old 
bar. In later years i\Ir. Chapman was associated with other 
prominent lawyers, and he continued to grow in professional 
sti'eugth until he became one of the leaders of the bar. But 
throughout this long period of successful practice he kept up his 
study of mathematics and even essayed to master the classics. In 
this, too, he was successful and eventiially became proficient in 
French and German. 

In 1860 ]\Ir. Chapman was a])pointed to a seat on the bench 
of the Supreme judicial court and in 18fi8 he became its chief 
justice, succeeding in office George Tyler Bigelow. 

John Wells was justice of the Supreme court of judicature 
from 1866 until the year of his death. 1875. He was a graduate 
of Williams college, class of 1888. and its valedictorian, from 
which we may correctly infer that he was as proficient in his colle- 
giate studies as he was distinguished in later professional life. 
If local tradition be true. Judge Wells possessed strong political 
aspirations, and as his social and mental qualities were propor- 
tionate with his legal strength, his desires generally wei-e gratified 
until he reached the goal of his ambition — a seat upon the bench 
of the highest court in the state. 

After his graduation at Williams, Judge Wells read law with 
his uncle, Daniel Wells, and afterwards finished his early legal 
course in Harvard law school. He then became professionally 
associated with George M. Stearns— the mighty Stearns of Chico- 
pee— and still later he was law partner with Judge Soule of 

( 308 ) 



BENCH AND BAR 

Springfield. He early entered the political field and in 1849-51 
and again in 1857, was a member of the lower honse of the gen- 
eral court. In 1858 he was appointed judge of the Court of pro- 
bate and insolvency. He was a delegate to the national republi- 
can convention that nominated ^Ir. Lincoln in 1860. and was a 
Lincoln elector in ISG-t. In 1866 he received his greatest political 
reward in an appointment to the bench of the Supreme judicial 
court, the appointee of his old-time personal friend. Gov. Alexan- 
der H. Bullock. 

Judge Augustus Lord Soule, justice of the Supreme judicial 
Court from 1877 to 1881, when he resigned, was third in the suc- 
cession of Hampden county's contribution to the bench of the 
highest court. Judge Soule is remembered as one of the most 
scholarly lawyers of the Hampden bar, and withal, one of the 
leading corporation lawyers of New England. He also won dis- 
tinction through his remarkable success in trying patent cases. 
His indeed was a judicial mind, and all his utterances, both as 
lawyer and judge, always were logical and sound. 

Judge Soule was born in Exeter, N. H., the son of Richard 
Soule. who for many years was principal of Phillips Exeter acad- 
emy. In this famous school Judge Soule laid the foundation foi- 
his splendid legal education, but he also was a graduate of Har- 
vard college, class of '46. He was admitted to the bar in Spring- 
field in 1849 and began his professional career in Chicopee. He 
soon returned to Springfield, where he was partner, first with 
Timothy G. Pelton, later with John Wells, and finally with 
Edward H. Lathrop. Judge Soule died in August, 1887. 

Judge Marcus Perrin Knowlton, present justice of the Su- 
preme judicial court and Hampden's latest representative in that 
high office, is a native of the county, born in Wilbraham, Feb- 
ruary 3, 1889. the son of Merrick and Fatima (Perrin) Knowlton. 
He was educated in the old Monson academy and also in Yale 
college, where he was graduated. He then began teaching in the 
union school in NorAvalk, Conn., but having determined to enter 
the law he began a course of study with James G.Allen of Palmer, 
Later on he was a student in the office of John Wells and 
Judge Soule in Springfield, and in 1862 he came to the bar, 

( 309 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

From that time until his appointment to the bench he was en- 
gaged in active and successful practice, and incidentally was a 
factor in Springfield politics. In 1878 he Avas a representative 
from Springfield in the house and in 1880 was in the senate. In 
1881 he was appointed a justice of the Superior court, serving in 
that capacity until 1887, when he was elevated to a seat on the 
bench of the Supreme judicial court. This position he still 
holds. 

The Court of Common Pleas was established in 1820 and was 
abolished in 1859. During the period of its history there was 
appointed to the bench of this court, two representatives of the 
Hampden county bar. 

Judge David Cummins was appointed to the bench in 1828, 
served until 1844. when he resigned, and died in 1855. Of the 
personal characteristics and professional life of Judge Cummins, 
little is now known beyond the meagre record of his judicial ser- 
vice. He lived on Chestnut street in Springfield and some men- 
tion is made of him and his dwelling place in Mrs. Warner's 
history of that noted thoroughfare. 

Judge Henry Morris began his judicial career on the bench 
of the Common Pleas in 1854, four years before the court passed 
out of existence. On retiring from the bench he resumed law 
practice but gradually drifted into industrial enterprises and was 
afterward an important factor in the development of Spring- 
field's manufacturing resources. 

Henry ISIorris was born in Springfield in 1814. and was the 
eldest son of Judge Oliver B. Morris. He prepared for college 
in Monson academy and was graduated at Amherst in 1832. He 
also was a student in Cambi-idge law school, and was admitted to 
practice in 1835. His subsequent professional career was a rec- 
ord of continuous success, as his knowledge of law was deep and 
he was generally known as a close student, a safe counsellor, a 
thoroughly honest lawyer and an upright citizen. Several times 
he was chairman of the Springfield board of selectmen, and was 
president of the first common council of that city. In 1854 he 
was elected to congress by the American party, but before taking 
a seat in the federal legislature he Avas appointed to the bench of 

( 310 ) 



BENCH AND BAR 

the Common Pleas. He thereupon resigned the congressional 
office and at once assumed the jndieial function. He served four 
years, and when the court was dissolved he returned to the law, as 
has been mentioned. Judge Morris died in 1888. 

The Superior court of the commonwealth of Massachusetts 
was established in 1859 by act of the general court, and has con- 
tinued to the present time. Hampden county has furnished five 
incumbents of the bench of this court : Justices Henry Vose, 
appointed in 1859 and died in 1869 ; Marcus Perrin Knowlton, 
appointed in 1881 and advanced to the Supreme judicial court in 
1887 ; Justin Dewey, appointed from Berkshire county in 1886, 
removed thence to Springfield, and now deceased ; James Robert 
Dunbar, appointed in 1888, resigned, and now of the Suffolk bar; 
and Elisha Burr ^laynard, appointed in 1891 and still in office. 

Henry Vose, one of the first members of the bench of the 
Superior court after it was established, was born in Charlestown, 
May 21, 1817, and was educated in Concord academy and Har- 
vard college, graduating at the latter institution in 1837. After 
leaving college he was private tutor in a family in the western 
part of New York, and still later he studied law in Greenfield 
with George T. Davis, and also in Springfield with Chapman & 
Ashmun. He came to the bar in 1841 and practiced in Hampden 
county until 1859 when he was appointed justice of the Superior 
court and removed to Boston. In 1857 and 1858 he represented 
Springfield in the lower house of the general court. For many 
year Judge Vose was a prominent figure in Springfield legal and 
political circles and was highly respected throughout the county. 
He died in Boston, January 17, 1869. 

Justin Dewey was one of Berkshire's contributions to the 
bench of the Superior court, yet from the time of his appoint- 
ment until his death in 1900 he was a resident of Springfield. 
He was born in Alford, June 12, 1836, and was a graduate of 
Williams college. He read law in Great Barrington with In- 
crease Sumner and was admitted to the Berkshire bar in 1860. 
He was in the lower house of the legislature in 1862 and again in 
1877, and was in the senate in 1879. Yet Judge Dewey never 
had a taste for polities, preferring to devote his energies to the 

( 311 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

practice of law. He was appointed justice of the Superior court 
in 1886 and continued in otHce until his death. 

James Robert Dunbar, who was appointed to the bench in 
1888, and who, although now retired from judicial office, still re- 
sides in the eastern part of the state, was born in Pittsfield, 
December 28, 1847, and graduated at Williams college in 1871. 
His early legal education was acquired in Harvard law school and 
in the office of Milton B. Wliitney, of Westfield, and he came to 
the bar in Springfield in 1847. He was active in pi-ofessional 
circles and was a successful lawyer ; and he also was a somewhat 
prominent factor in Hampden politics, representing the county in 
the senate in 1885 and 1886. 

Elisha Burr jNIaynard, present justice of the Superior court, 
and a lifelong resident of this county, was born in Wilbraham, 
November 21, 1842, the son of Walter and Hannah (Burr) May- 
nard. He was educated in the public schools and also in Dart- 
mouth college, graduating in 1867. He read law with George M. 
Stearns and Marcus P. Knowlton and came to the bar in 1868. 
From that time Judge Maynard has been a citi/.en of Springfield 
and in many \vays has been identified with the best interests and 
history of the city. In 1879 he was a member of the lower house 
of the general court, and in 1887 and 1888 was mayor of Spring- 
field. He was appointed to the bench of the Superior court in 
1891 and still is in office. 

Having thus referred to the organization of the courts and 
having recalled something of the lives and character of the magis- 
ti-ates who have adorned the bench, it is proper that there be 
made some brief record of the laymen of the profession in Hamp- 
den county, and particularly the members of the old bar who no 
longer are living, whose life work is closed. For more than three- 
quarters of a century the county has been noted for the strength 
of its bar and among the vast number of practitioners who have 
honored the profession during that period there have been found 
some of the brightest legal minds in this commonwealth. A pro- 
per tribute to the memory of all of them would require a volume, 
therefore in this brief chapter we must be content with the selec- 
tion of a few of the more distinguished lawyers, those who at- 

( 312 ) 



BEWCfl AM) BAR 

tained a hi<ih standing' in professional life, oi- who. having politi- 
cal ambition gi'atified at the polls, won fame in the legislative 
halls both of the state and the nation. 

Bcmixisceiicfs of the Old Bar. — Previous to about the begin- 
ning of the nineteenth century the i)ractice in the highest court 
of the state was environed by the justices of that august body 
with much ceremony and becoming dignity, and the laymen of 
the law were invested with the title of barrister. In 1768 there 
were only twenty-five of these in the entire province, and one — 
John AVorthington — had a residence in Springfield. Subse- 
quently and previous to 1789 these worthy lights of the profes- 
sion tvere "called" by the court to be barristers, viz. : ]\Ioses Bliss 
and Jonathan Bliss of Springfield. 

In 1812. the year in which Hampden county was created, the 
"attornies of the Supreme judicial court" in practice in the 
towns of the county were as follows : Alanson Knox. Blandford : 
Abner Morgan. Stephen Pynchon. Brimfield ; Asahel Wright. 
Chester: John Phelps, (Jranville; George Bliss. William Ely. 
Jonathan Dwight. jr., Edmund Dwight. Oliver B. Morris. Samuel 
Orne. Springfield; John Ingersoll. Elijah Bates. William Blair, 
Westfield: Samuel Lathrop. West Springfield. The "attornies" 
of the Court of common pleas then in practice in the county were 
James M. Cooley. Granville ; Deodatus Dutton. Monson : James 
Stebbins. Palmer: p]dmund Bliss. Spring-field. 

John Worthington, who was more commonly known in early 
local history as Colonel Worthington, was a native of Springfield, 
born 1719. He graduated at Yale in 1740 and began the practice 
of law in the shire town of Hampshire county in 1744. For 
about thirty years afterward he was one of the most influential 
citizens of Springfield and even was looked upon as the leader of 
the people in his time. When the courts were suspended during 
the revolution he retired from practice, yet he was afterward a 
conspicuous figure in public affairs, with decided leanings toward 
toryism during the Avar. He was a man of fine personal appear- 
ance and his manner always was courteous and dignified. His 
library of law books was the largest and best in the county at the 
time. Colonel Worthington was in the lower house of the general 
court in 1748. '62 and '73. He died in 1800. 

( 313 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Jonathan Bliss, barrister, of Springfield, was for several 
years an honored member of the legal profession in the county, 
and while he was a lawyer of understanding he appears not to 
have been especially active in political affairs. He was educated 
in Cambridge and read law with Judge Trowbridge. He began 
practice in Springfield in 1764, but at the outbreak of the revolu- 
tion he left the country and returned to England. An unauthen- 
ticated narrative says Mr. Bliss returned to Springfield in 1791 
and married a daughter of Colonel Worthington. 

George Bliss is to be early and prominently mentioned 
among the conspicuous figures of the old bar. From the fact that 
he developed and brought an unusually large number of young 
men into the ranks of the profession, he became know^n by the 
title of "Master George." He was a lawyer of many peculiari- 
ties, yet withal, was possessed of good sound sense and was a man 
of broad understanding, professionally and otherwise. He had 
hoped for an appointment to the Common Pleas bench and being 
disappointed it is said that he never would consent to practice in 
that court. Mr. Bliss came to the bar in 1784 and died in 1830, 
at the age of sixty-five years. He was born in 1765. George 
Bliss, jr., of the Sjiringfield bar in later years, was a son of "Mas- 
ter" George Bliss. 

Samuel Lathrop, fourth son of Rev. Joseph Lathrop, was 
born in West Springfield in 1771, and died in 1846. He was a 
graduate of Yale college in 1792, and soon afterward entered the 
profession in which he acquired a standing of prominence. He 
was ten years in the state senate, and president of that body in 
1819 and 1820. He was in the lower house of the federal con- 
gress from 1818 to 1824, and once was a candidate for the gover- 
norship of Massachusetts. During the latter part of his life Mr. 
Lathrop engaged chiefly in agricultural pursuits. 

Isaac C. Bates is remembered as one of the most scholarly 
and polished orators of the bar in his time, and had not his tastes 
led him to devote much attention to agricultural pursuits he un- 
doubtedly would have stood at the head of his profession in West- 
ern Massachusetts. However, he seemed naturally to shrink from 
the bitter legal contest, yet when once thoroughly interested in a 

( 314 ) 




George Ashniun 
A leader uf tlie old Hampden liar 



on: ('OIWTY AXD ITS PEOPLE 

case liis latent })()\ver became apparent and he stood almost peer- 
less as an advocate. iMr. Bates was educated in Yale college and 
was admitted to [)ractice in the Supreme court in 1807. He 
served several terms in congress, and in 1841-44 was in the United 
States senate. On the occasion of his death his eulogist was Dan- 
iel Webster, his friend and colleague. 

George Ashnuui was for many years a leading member of the 
Hampden bar. yet his professional career was begun in Hamp- 
shire county. He was graduated at Yale college in 1823, and was 
admitted to the bar at Northampton in 1830. In the course of a 
few years he removed to Springfield and afterward, until his 
death in 1870, he was one of the most conspicuous figures in 
Hampden professional and political circles. He spent many 
years in congress, in the house of representatives, and even when 
not in public life his love of politics and his admiration of the 
qualities of leading statesmen, led him to maintain a residence in 
Washington. When in active practice at the bar Mr. Ashmun 
ranked with the ablest lawyers in this state. He was well edu- 
cated, too, for professional life, and in fact came from what 
might properly be called a legal family. His father was Eli P. 
Ashmun, one of the pioneers of the bar of Hampshire county, and 
his brother was Prof. John Hooker Ashmun of Northampton, 
each being a distinguished lawyer in his time. 

Alanson Knox, more frequently known by reason of his con- 
nection with the state militia as General Knox, came to the bar in 
1810, and for many years lived and practiced in Blandford, his 
native town, and in which his father, Elijah Knox, and also his 
grandfather, AYilliam Knox, were pioneers. General Knox was 
born in 1785. He is remembered as a good laA^^er of the old 
school, and his military title added to his personal dignity and 
bearing and gave him an especial standing in society. Judge 
Chapman, of the Supreme judicial court, acquired his early legal 
training in General Knox's office. The latter spent the last years 
of his life in Ohio. 

Oliver B. Morris, who died in 1871, in his eighty-ninth year, 
for many years was one of Hampden's leading citizens and prom- 
inent lawyers. He was born in 1782, and was the son of Edward 

( 316 ) 




Oliver B. Morris 
Of the old Hampden Bar 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Morris, an early settler and a patriot of the revolution. Oliver 
graduated at Williams college in 1801 and read law with "Mas- 
ter ' ' George Bliss, whose daughter he subsequently married. He 
came to the bar in 1804 and practiced until 1835, combining with 
professional work a long service in public life. From 1809 to 
1811, and again in 1813, he was representative in the general 
court, and from 1813 to 1829 he was register of probate. Again, 
from 1829 to 1858, he Avas judge of the Probate court. In the 
meantime, from 1820 to 1832, he likewise served as county attor- 
ney, under the old statute relating to that office. He also was a 
member of the constitutional convention of 1820. Politically, 
Judge Morris originally was a federalist, later a whig and finally 
a republican ; and it goes without saying that he was a prominent 
figure in political circles, as his long service in official station 
clearly indicates. Judge Morris was a native of South Wilbra- 
ham. 

John Mills is remembered by the older members of the 
Hampden bar as a lawyer of much prominence and a successful 
practitioner in the inferior courts. After his removal to Spring- 
field he engaged in various commercial enterprises outside of the 
profession, and he had the misfortune to lose a great share of his 
property. Mr. Mills was born in Sandisfield about 1790. He 
read law with Judge John Phelps and was admitted to practice in 
1815. He was in the senate in 1826-8. 

Justice Willard, the noted special pleader, began his career 
as a lawyer in 1816, and when Judge Morris was appointed judge 
of probate, Mr. Willard succeeded him as register. He is re- 
called as a lawyer of ability, and also as an uninteresting public 
speaker, for he was too logical in his arguments to attract listen- 
ers. It was he who once declared in a public assemblage that 
some of his hearers would live to witness the running of a train 
of cars from Springfield to Boston ''between sun and sun." But 
notwithstanding his peculiarities Mr. Willard was an honored 
member of the bar and a respected citizen. 

Caleb Rice is recalled as one of the leading counsellors of his 
time rather than as a strong trial lawyer and advocate. He was 
born in 1792. and graduated at Williams college. He read law 

( 318 ) 




William B. Calhoun 



01 R COUMY AND ITS PEOPLE 

in Westfield, Avith William Blair, aiul \vas admitted to practice in 
1819. He settled in West Springtield, but npon his election to 
the ofUce of sheritiT, which he held from 1881 to 1851, he removed 
to Sprinii'lield. He served also in both houses of the state legis- 
lature and was one of the early mayors of Springfield. ]\li'. Rice 
was a p()])ular citizen and oiw who enjoyed the confidence of the 
i:>eople. He died in 1873. 

William B. Calhoun probably received his early legal train- 
ing from "Master" George Bliss: and while that schooling was 
thorough and he gave nuich promise for future advancement in 
professional life, he afterward drifted away and became absorbed 
in other pursuits. It was not that he loved the law less but that 
he loved ])olitics moie. hence the best of his years were spent in 
public life, and when he finally laid aside the cares and duties of 
office he retired to the quiet of his farm. He was speaker of the 
jMassachusetts house of representatives from 1828 to 1835, and 
was president of the senate in 1846 and 1847. He served several 
years in congress, and from 1845 to 1851 was secretary of state 
foi- Massachusetts. ]\Ir. Calhoun came to the bar in 1821. 

William Gelston Bates was aptly called the "father of the 
Hampden bar," for he more than any of his contemporaries care- 
fully watched the passing of the one and the succession of another 
generation of legal lights in the county. Best of all, he remem- 
bered and stored up for future use all that he witnessed in pass- 
ing years, and it is by recourse to his reminiscences of the old bar 
that we still know something of the character and works of those 
who "served the law" three-quarters of a century ago. Mr. 
Bates was born in Westfield in 1803, and died in 1880. He grad- 
uated at Yale college in 1825, and read law with his father, Elijah 
Bates, and also wdth Mr. Mills, Judge Howe and John H. Ash- 
mnn. He was admitted to practice in 1828 and soon afterward 
was appointed master in chancery. He was appointed a member 
of the state board of education in 1839 and served eight years. 
He was in the senate in 1841 ; in the governor's council in 1844- 
45: district attorney in 1853, and in the house of representatives 
in 1868. 

Erasmus D. Beach was born in Sandisfield. He read law 
with his uncle. John ]Mills, and came to the bar in 1823, locating 

( 320 ) 




William Gelston Bates, Westtield 
Father and Historian of the Hampden Bar" 



21-1 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

in Springfield. He was a lawyer of much strength and had a 
large practice. Among his legal associates were James AV. 
Crooks, William (i. Bates, Edward B. Gillett and Ephraim W. 
Bond, all of whom are now dead. 

George M. Stearns, the brilliant pleader and able and suc- 
cessful lawyer, the acknowledged leader of the Hampden bar in 
his time, senior member of the well known law firm of Stearns, 
Knowlton & Long, and with all his varied accomplishments an 
ardent lover of good horses, was the son of a clergyman of the 
Unitarian church. Mr. Stearns acquired his early legal educa- 
tion in the office of Judge Wells, in Chicopee, and after his admis- 
sion to the bar, in 1852, he became his law partner. He made his 
home in Chicopee several years, yet his practice, and his fame as 
a lawyer, extended almost throughout the state, particularly after 
he joined the Springfield bar. As an advocate before the jury 
Mr. Steai-ns was almost Avithout a rival, and as a stump speaker 
his mental resources apparently Avere boundless, his wit and 
pathos at times being inimitable. He was a democrat of the old 
school, yet the district attorneyship Avas about the extent of his 
political holdings. His counsel, his voice and his influence Avere 
ever at the service of his party. Mr. Stearns died in 1894. 

George B. Morris, the younger son of Judge Oliver B. Mor- 
ris, AA'as born in Springfield in 1818. He Avas educated at Am- 
herst college and Harvard laAV school and A\'as admitted to the bar 
in 1840. He first practiced hiAV in partnership Avith his brother, 
Henry Morris, and afterwards separately, AA'hen he held the office 
of commissioner of insolvency. In 1852 the Supreme judicial 
court appointed him clerk of the courts for Hampden county. In 
1856 this office Avas made elective, and he Avas then chosen by the 
people every fiA'e years until his death in 1872. ]\Ir. Morris AA^as 
a quiet, retiring man. but very social Avith his intimate friends. 
He was an excellent laAvyer. a great reader of general literature 
and Avas well informed on all subjects. William G. Bates, in 
Avriting of him, said he knew of no officer to Avhom the members of 
the bar Avere more justly attached, and the late Judge Gideon 
Wells said of him that he Avas never knoAvn to make a mistake. 

Edward Bates Gillett, district attorney from 1856 to 1861. 
and recognized as one of the ablest laAvyers of Massachusetts in 

( 322 ) 



BENCH AND BAK 

his time, was born in South Iladley Falls in Auoust. 1817, and 
died in his eonifortable home in Westfield in February. 1898. His 
early education was acifuired in the academy at South Hadley 
and also that in AVesttield. and he graduated at Amherst college 
in 18o9. (He was made a trustee of that institution in 1861. and 
in 1866 was honored with the degree of LL. D.) Mr. Gillett 
read law with his uncle. Isaac C. Bates, later attended Harvard 
law school and was admitted to practice in 1848. He began his 
professional caieer in Westheld and soon rose to a position of 
prominence in the ranks of the profession. He became partner 
with :\Ir. Bates, a relation which was maintained until 1852. and 
was followed by a partnership with Ephraim L. Lincoln, who 
died in 1859. His next partner was Homer B. Stevens, with 
whom he continued until 1888. when he retired from active pro- 
fessional woi-k. About the time of the organization of the re- 
publican party Mr. (Jillett had gained an enviable prominence as 
a trial lawyer and advocate, and as an old-time whig it was only 
natural that he should be looked upon as the leader of the new 
party in this part of the state. He was a delegate to the first re- 
publican national convention that nominated John C. Fremont, 
and in 1860 he was a Lincoln elector. High political honors were 
temptingly offered him, but he resisted them and contented him- 
self with six years service as district attorney and a year in the 
Massachusetts senate. In the former office he succeeded Henry 
L. Dawes and was in turn succeeded by George M. Stearns. In 
speaking of Mr. Gillett 's conduct of the office Mr. Stearns once 
publicly remarked that his predecessor was by far the ablest in- 
cumbent of the district attorneyship that Western Massachusetts 
ever had furnished. A seat in the senate of the United States 
might easily have been won by him had he inclined to political in- 
dulgences. In Westfield Mr. (Jillett Avas in many ways identified 
with the best interests and history of the town. He was truly 
loyal to all its institutions and was honored by its people. He 
was a member of the Y. M. C. A., the American board of missions. 
and of the First church : was a director and counsel for the B. & 
A. railroad company and attorney for the N. H. & N. company; 
was president of the Hampden bank, the Westfield insurance 

( 323 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

company, the Athenaeum, and a member of the board of trustees 
of the academy fnnd. 

Ephraim W. Bond, of the old hiw firm of Beach & Bond, and 
one of Springfield's foremost lawyers and business men for many 
years, was born in West Brookfield in 1821, and died in Spring- 
field in 1891. In 1826 his parents removed from Brookfield to 
the shire town of Hampden county, and in that city the greater 
part of his business life was spent ; and during the course of his 
long and active business career he was in some manner identified 
with every important measure that had for its end the welfare of 
Springfield and its people. At the time of his death he was presi- 
dent of the Springfield Five Cents savings bank and of the city 
library and a director of the Pynchon national bank. He was 
one of the foundei-s of the savings bank and outlived all of his co- 
workers in establishing that institution. He was selectman be- 
fore Springfield became a city, and was largely instrumental in 
securing the city charter. Under the city government he served 
both as councilman and alderman. He was in the house of rep- 
resentatives in 1852. He was a republican though not specially 
active in political affairs. Mr. Bond was educated in the Spring- 
field public schools and gradiiated at Amherst college in 1841. He 
then took a post-graduate course in Yale and afterward a law 
course in Harvard law school, graduating in 1844. He came to 
the bar in Springfield in 1845 and at once began practice. Six 
years later he became partner with Erasmus D. Beach, which re- 
lation was maintained until 1864. During that period the firm 
of Beach & Bond became well known in legal circles in this state. 
In ]867 the junior partner was chosen vice-president of the Mu- 
tual Life insurance company, and on the death of president Caleb 
Rice in 1873, he was elected his successor, thereafter being vir- 
tual manager of the affairs of the company until 1886, when he 
retired from active business life. 

George "Walker, the greater part of whose active life was de- 
voted to other pursuits than the practice of law, but who never- 
theless was a lawyer of ability as Avell as a banker and financier 
of national prominence, was born in Peterboro, N. H.. in 1824 
and died in "Washington, D. C, in 1888. He was a graduate of 

( 324 ) 



BENCH AXD BAR 

Dartmouth, class of 18-42, and acquired his early legal education 
in the ot!ice of Henry jNlorris and in Harvard law school. He 
was admitted to the Hampden bar in 1846 ; was in the senate in 
1858 and '59, and a member of the house in 1868. After drop- 
ping professional work he turned his attention to banking, and 
was president of the Third national bank of Springfield. He 
achieved special prominence in financial circles, and in 1865 was 
sent to Europe by the national government to settle certain ques- 
tions in connection with the public debt. In 1869 he again was 
abroad at the request of the jMassachusetts government to trans- 
act financial business, and in 1879 for a third time he visited 
Europe in behalf of the general government to investigate the 
subject of international bi-metallic monetary standard. 

Nehemiah Allen Leonard, of the old law firm of Chapman, 
Ashmun & Leonard, and of the later firm of Leonard & Wells, 
district attorney in 1874-75 and again from 1878 to 1881, was 
born in New Bedford in 1825. and died December 15, 1890. He 
was the son of Capt. Nehemiah Leonard, who followed the sea for 
many years. He was a graduate of Brown university in 1848 
and came thence to Springfield to read law with Chapman, Ash- 
mun & Norton, with whom he afterward was professionally asso- 
ciated. He was admitted to practice in 1850 and soon became 
partner with jNIr. Ashmun. In later years he attained a high 
standing in the profession and was recognized as one of the lead- 
ing corporation lawyers of the state. So closely indeed did he 
become identified with corporation practice and interests that for 
several years he was counsel for the Connecticut river railroad, 
and in 1880 was elected president of the company. In 1874 he 
was appointed district attorney to succeed Mr. Stearns, and in 
1877 he was elected to the same office. He also served six years 
as councilman in Springfield and was president of the board 
from 1860 to 1864. 

William Steele Shurtleff. register of insolvency from 1857 to 
1859, register of probate from 1859 to 1863, and .judge of probate 
and insolvency from 1863 to 1896, was born in Newburg, N. Y.. 
in 1830. and died in Longmeadow in January. 1896. He was 
the son of Roswell and Clara (Gleason) Shurtleff, and a 

( 325 ) 




Colonel William S. Shurtleff 
Forty-Sixth Massachusetts Vohinteer Infantry 



BENCH AND BAR 

descendant in the seventh generation of AVilliam Shnrtleff. who 
came with the pilgrims in the vessel next following the May- 
flower. The family came to Springfield in 1839. Judge Shnrt- 
leff was educated in the public schools. Williston seminary and 
Yale college, but was not graduated. He studied law with George 
Ashmun and in Harvard law school, and came to the bar in 1856. 
Soon after he began practice he formed a partnership with Heniy 
Vose, and still later was partner with George Walker. In the 
early part of the war of 1861-65 he entered the army, enlisting as 
private in Co. A, 36th Mass. Vol. Inf., and on the organization of 
the company was elected lieutenant; and on the organization of 
the regimental field and staff he was likewise chosen lieutenant- 
colonel. Three months later he was promoted colonel, by which 
designation he afterward was generally known. On returning 
from the service Judge Shurtleft' was appointed judge of probate 
and insolvency and served in that capacity until his death. He 
was a competent, faithful public official, loyal to every duty and 
loyal to his friends. He was closely identified with early city 
history and assisted in preparing the charter; was a prominent 
Mason ; was vice-president of the state board of public reserva- 
tions ; one of the founders of the Connecticut valley historical so- 
ciety and its vice-president; a member of the Massachusetts his- 
torical society ; a director of the city library association ; an influ- 
ential memlier of the G. A. R. ; a member of the AVinthrop club, 
and for two years vice-president of the Yale alumni association of 
"Western Massachusetts. 

John Alills Stebbins, mayor of Springfield in 1877, and other- 
wise for many years identified with the history of the city, was 
born in Hinsdale, December 27, 1826, the son of Elihu and IMary 
(Hooker) Stebbins. He gi-aduated at Dartmouth college in 
1848, read laAv with Beach & Bond and came to the bar in 1851. 

AYilliam H. Haile, late president of the Hampden loan and 
trust company, lieutenant-governor from 1890 to 1893, and once 
the nominee of the republican party for the governorship of 
Masaehusetts, was born in Chesterfield. N. H.. in 1833 and died 
in Springfield in 1901. He fitted for college in Kimball union 
academy and also in Meriden, N. H., in an institution of similar 

( 327 ) 



01 B COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

rank. He entered Amherst bnt left in his sophomore year for 
Dartmouth, Avhere he Avas graduated in 1856. He read law in 
Springfield and came to the bar in 1859. He practiced for 
a time in Boston and then returned to Hinsdale to engage in 
manufacturing enterprises. He was in the lower house of the 
legislature in 1865-6, and again in 1871. The next year he came 
to Springfield and afterward was identified with the best inter- 
ests of the city, devoting his attention more closely to business 
pursuits than to the practice of law. He was mayor of the city 
in 1881 : was in the senate in 1882 and '83, and lieutenant- 
governor of INIassachusetts from 1890 to 1898. In 1882 he was 
the unsuccessful candidate of his party for the governorship. 

Gideon Wells, who during his active professional career was 
partner with such strong lawyers as George Ashmun and Nehe- 
miah A. Leonard, and who was known in legal circles in Hamp- 
den county as a learned and safe counsellor, was born in Wethers- 
field, Conn., August 16, 1835, and died in Springfield in INIarch, 
1898. His young life was spent on a farm, and he was educated 
in the once famous East Windsor Hill school, Williston seminary 
and Yale college, graduating at the latter in 1858. He then 
came to Springfield and read law Avith Chapman & Chamberlain, 
and was admitted to practice in 1860. He at once associated with 
Ashmun & Leonard in the general practice of law, but soon after- 
ward enlisted in Co. A, 46th INIass. Inf., serving as first lieutenant 
in that conniiand and also in the 8th Inf. Judge AVells is remem- 
bered as a good lawyer, though the latter years of his practice 
were given to the affairs of the INIassachusetts Mutual Life, for 
which company he was general counsel. He was register in 
bankruptcy from 1869 to 1876, and in the latter year he succeed- 
ed Judge Morton as the head of the police court of Springfield, 
holding the office until 1890. He also for several years was at- 
torney for the Springfield street railway company, and for the 
First, Second and Third national banks. He was a director of 
the John Hancock and Third national banks, and at one time was 
president of the Holyoke water i)ower company. These special 
interests occupied mucli of his time and naturally drew him away 
from the general practice. 

( 328 ) 



BENCH AND BAR 

Timothy Mauning Brown, register in bankruptcy from 1875 
to 1880, city attorney for Springfield in 1879-80 and from 1881 
to 1885, president of the Hampden bar association at the time of 
his death, March 13, 1897. was born in AVilliamstown, iNIay 8, 
1838, the son of Manning Brown and a grandson of Caleb Brown, 
a Rhode Island Quaker and an early settler in Cheshire. He 
prepared for college at Swan's school in Williamstown, and 
graduated at Williams in 1859. The next year he came to 
Springfield and began the study of law with Chapman & Cham- 
berlain, and came to the bar in 1862. Soon afterward he formed 
a law partnership with James A. Rumrill, and about the same 
time was appointed assistant assessor of internal revenue, later 
being made assessor, vice Major Emerson of Pittsfield. During 
his active life as a lawyer, Mr. Brown was attorney, director and 
president 'pro tern, of the Agawam national bank, and a trustee 
of the Hampden savings bank. For nine years also he served as 
member of the school committee. From 1885 until his death he 
Avas president of the Hampden bar association, and also for a time 
was chairman of the board of bar examiners. 

George Dexter Robinson, representative for Chicopee in the 
house of the general court in 1874, state senator in 1876, repre- 
sentative in the United States congress from 1877 to 1884, and 
governor of Massachusetts in 1884, '85 and '86, was born in Lex- 
ington. January 20, 1834, the son of Charles and Mary (Davis) 
Robinson. His early education was acquired in the public 
schools, Lexington academy and the Hopkins classical grammar 
school in Cambridge, where he fitted for college. He graduated 
at Harvard in 1856, with the degree of A. B. He then became 
principal of the Chicopee high school, which position he filled 
until 1865, when he began the study of law with his brother, 
Charles Robinson, of Cambridge. The next year he Avas ad- 
mitted to practice and at once started upon his professional 
career in Chicopee. where he maintained a residence until the 
time of his death. He soon rose to a position of prominence 
among the leading lawyers of the county bar, and at the same time 
time his participation in political affairs gave him a wide ac- 
quaintance throughout the state. He justly deserved all the 

( 329 ) 




George Dexter Robinson 



BENCH AND BAR 

political honors which were awarded him, and in every pnblic 
capacity he acquitted himself with entire credit to his constitu- 
ency as well as to himself. As a lawyer in active practice he was 
associated as attoi-ney of record or as senior counsel in some of 
the most important civil and criminal cases ever tried in the 
courts of the state, and as a republican of unquestioned integrity 
of character his counsel was fretfuently sought by the leaders of 
his party in the nation. In- 1887 he was offered by President 
Cleveland an appointment as inter-state civil service commis- 
sioner, which he declined, and in 1889 he also declined President 
Harrison's oft'ered appointment as commissioner to the civilized 
Indian tribes. 

Thus might these reminiscences be continued almost indefi- 
nitely did the policy and scope of our chapter permit, but now 
having passed the allotted space we are admonished to desist. The 
successors to the old bar were equally worthy and honorable, Imt 
many of those who entered the profession subsequent to 1850 are 
still living and it is contrary to the design of our work to review 
the lives of those whose career is unfinished, except as they may 
have attained to positions on the bench. However, that the rec- 
ord of the bar of the county may be made as complete as possible, 
the writer has availed himself of county records, old newspaper 
files, public and legal documents, old court calendars and, in fact, 
all reliable sources of information, and has compiled therefrom 
the appended chronological register of the bar. The claim is 
not made that the list is in all respects perfect, or that it shows 
the name of every lawyer who has practiced in the county since 
1812, for many have come from other counties after admission, 
and of that class no special record is kept. However, the "ros- 
ter" shows for itself and may be regarded as reasonably accu- 
rate, showing names of attorneys and the year in which each was 
admitted to the bar in this county. 

1812 — Patrick Boise. 

1813 — John Hooker, George Hinckley, John Howard. 

1814— Solomon Lathrop. 

1815— Charles F. Bates, Benjamin Day, George Bliss, .jr., 
Eli B. Hamilton. 

( 331 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

1816 — Gorhani Parks. 

1817— Alfred Stearns, Caleb Rice. 

1818— William B. Calhoun, John B. Cooley. 

1819 — Epaphras Clark, Erasmus Noi-cross. Heman Stebbins, 
Asa Olmstead. 

1820-Josiali Hooker. 

1822— William Bliss, Joel Miller, Richard D. ^Morris. 

1824— William Crooks, Norman T. Leonard. 

1825— Reuben Atwater Chapman. 

1827— Matthew Ives, jr. 

1828— William (i. Bates. AVilliam M. Lathrop, Joseph Knox, 
George Ashnuin. 

1829 — Chauncey B. Rising, William Dwight. 

1830— Francis Dwight, AVilliam Hyde. 

1831— Joseph Huntington. 

1832 -William Bliss, AVilliam C. Dwight. 

1833— Erasmus D. Beach. 

1834— Richard Bliss. 

1835— Henry Morris. 

1836— H. II. Buckland, George Baylies Upham. 

1837— Russell E. Dewey. 

1839-AA'illiam AV. Blair. 

1840 — George B. Morris. 

1841 — Henry A^ose. 

1842— Edward Bates Gillett. 

1843 — Otis A. Seamans, Lorenzo Norton. AVilliam 0. Gor- 
ham, Lorenzo D. Brown. 

1845— Allen Bangs, jr., AVellington Thompson, Ephraim AV. 
Bond. Lester E. Newell. Albert Clarke, AVilliam Allen, jr. 

1846— P. Emory Aldrich, Thomas B. Munn, George AA^alker, 
Bernard B. AVhittemore, Lester AVilliams, jr., Charles C. Hay- 
ward. 

1847 — Sanuiel L. Flemming, Elb ridge G. Bowdoin, James 
H. Morton. Sanuiel Fowler, Edwin M. Bigelow, Charles K. Weth- 
erell. 

1848— Fayette Smith, Charles R. Ladd, George L. Squier, 
Reuben P. Boies, Charles II. Branscomb. 

( 332 ) 



BENCH AM) BAR 

1849— Joseph M. Cavis, William B. C. Pearsons, Augustus 
L. Soule, Henry Fuller, John Munn, Edward P. Burnham. 

1850— Timothy G. Pelton, Charles A. Winchester, Asahel 
Bush, Franklin Crosby. 

1851— Charles T. Arthur, John M. Stebbins, William How- 
land, Oramel S. Senter, Nehemiah A. Leonard, James C. Hins- 
dale. 

1852— George M. Stearns, Martin J. Severance, James F. 
Dwight, William C. Greene, George L. Frost. 

1853— Milton B. Whitney, AVilliam L. Smith, James G. 
Allen, John H. Thompson. 

1854— John M. Emerson, Henry B. Lewis, George 0. Ide, 
James K. Mills. 

1855— Norman L. Johnson, James E. Mclntyre, Samuel J. 
Ross, Alfred M. Copeland. 

1856-Joel T. Rice, William S. Shurtleff, Irving Allen, 
George H. Knapp. 

1857— Ambrose N. Merrick, S. B. Woolworth, E. A. Warri- 
ner, Edward D. Hayden, 

1858— Liberty B. Dennett, Stephen E. Seymour, Frank E. 
Merriman. 

1859— Moses W. Chapin, Henry E. Daniels, Porter Under- 
wood, William C. Ide, Benton W. Cole, William H. Halle, E. 
Howard Lathrop, Homer B. Stevens. 

I860- Gideon Wells. 

1861— James A. Rumrill, John W. Moore, Otis P. Abercrom- 
bie. 

1862— Timothy M. Brown, Marcus P. Knowlton, Joseph H. 
Blair. 

1863— Sidney Sanders, Reuben Chapman, Samuel G. Lor- 
ing. 

1864— William S. Greene, Edward Morris. 

1865 — Charles A. Beach, James C. Greenough, J. P. Buck- 
land, Edward AA". Chapin, Joseph Morgan. 

1866 — George Dexter Robinson. 

1867 — George B. Morris, jr.. Hugh Donnelly, Charles A. 
Birnie, J. Porter, jr., Charles L. Gardner. 

( 333 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

1868 — Charles C. Spelliuaii. Elisha Burr Maynard, Luther 

White. 

1869— William B. Rogers, John W. Burgess. 

1870— Elbridge W. ]\Ierrell, Joseph AY. Browne, James U. 
Cochran. 

1871 — Albert A. Tyler, Edward Bellamy. 

1872— John P. Wall, Thomas F. Riley, Harris L. Sherman, 
John W. Converse, Charles L. Long. AVilliam Slattery, jr., S. S. 

Taft. 

187:^ — Robert O. Morris. Jonathan Allen, Luther Emerson 
Barnes, Frank E. Cairpenter. 

1874— James Robert Dunbar, Loranus E. Hitchcock, AV. J. 
Quinn, H. K. Hawes, Austin P. Christy, Daniel E. AA^ebster. 

1875— Joseph M. Ross, George L. Pease, Elisha P. Bartholo- 
mew, Michael L. Aloriarity, Harrison Hume, John L. King. AA^il- 
liam G. AVhite, Thomas B. AVarren, C. A. Sherman, H. A. Bar- 
tholomew. 

1876— Hubert M. CVniey, Charles J. Bellamy, Xeill Dumont, 
Edmund P. Kendriek. John B. Vincent, jr. 

1877— Charles H. Hersey, George H. Graves, Fred H. Gil- 
lett, Michael T. Foley, A. L. Alurray, Patrick H. Casey, Allen 
Webster, AVilliam H. Brooks. 

1878— Jeremiah P. AVhalen, (Jeorge Kress, Willmore B. 
Stone, Henry M. AYalradt, Charles R. Dudley, AVilliam AV. Mc- 
Clench. 

1879— Joseph Le Boeuf. Salem D. Charles, Charles H. Bar- 
rows, Alfred R. Barker, Homer C. Strong, Cornelius J. Driscoll, 
AVillis S. Kellogg, Thomas AA". Kenefick, L. Fred AA^hitman. 

1880— Charles F. Ely, John H. Flower, Francis AA^. Fiske, 
Albert B. Clark, Langdon L. AVard, John J. Reardon. U. S. Dem- 
ming, James S. Boucks, Henry C. Bliss. 

1881— Frederick G. Fisher, George D. Field, James E. Dun- 
leavy, Norman A. Fowler, Henry AA^. Ashley, Ralph AA^. Ellis. 

1882 — Thomas C. Johnson, Arthur Kilgore. Henry Knox, 
James H. lioomis, Frank A. AAliitney. James Tierney, Edwin F. 
Lyford. 

188^- AA^illiam AA^. Leach, James Bliss, 

( 334 ) 



BENCH AXD BAR 

188-1:— Frederick II. Stebbins. AVarren C. French, jr., Clay- 
ton D. Smith. Philip J. O'Hanlon. 

1885 — George S. Dexter. 

1886 — Eniile Orphir (ienest, Charles Henry Grout, John F. 
Coar, Harry AV. Brighani. Walter Stevens Robinson, Patrick 
James Moore. 

1887 — Adelard Archambault, Charles Leonard Mahoney. 
Thomas Daniel O'Brien. Alfred Timothy Guyott, Addison 
Loomis Green. 

1888— Alfred F. Lilley. Jonathan Barnes. Benjamin Brooks. 
Edward A. Barker. Samuel La Palme, Robert Mills Beach, Ar- 
thur Eugene Fitch. 

1889— James Davis Murray, Christopher Theodore Callahan. 
William Hamilton. Richard John Morrissey. William Patrick 
Hayes, Patrick Kilroy. 

1890-Wallaee R. Heady. Matthew S. Herbert. 

1891 -Milton F. Druce, Frank Eaton Carpenter, Charles 
Merriam Kirkham. Andrew J. Todd. Thomas Alphonsus Fitz 
Gibbon. 

1892— Arthur Howe Sherwin. Henry Hall Bosworth. Wal- 
lace AYilson, Daniel M. Key. Thomas Moore Roberts, Michael 
Joseph O'Connor, Arthur Adams Folsom, Joseph Menard. 

1893— Jason W. Steele, Thomas Joseph 'Conner, John Hil- 
dreth. Henry H. Barker, jr.. John Henry Farley, Henry Amasa 
King. Robert Charles Cooley. 

1894— Charles Gilmore Gardner. Fred Allen Ballon. John 
Francis Stapleton, jr.. Robert Arthur Allyn. Denis O'Neil, jr.. 
Charles Wilder Bosworth. Henry Adelbert Booth. Wallace Mur- 
ray Burt. William Edwards Leonard, Patrick James Garvey, 
Daniel Fred Fowler. 

1895 — George Albert Bacon. James Louis Doherty, Herbert 
Nelson Cross, William Albert Leary, Dexter Edgar Tilley. Wen- 
dell Green Brownson. Charles Harris Beckwith. Leonard Farwell 
Hardy. Henry Burt Montague. Arthur Beebe Chapin. Franklin 
Arthur Morris, Fred Austin Wilson, Clarence Edward Spelman. 

1896— John Thomas INIoriarity, Daniel James Stapleton, 
William Ai-thur MeCord, Edward A. McClintock, Daniel M. Sul- 

( 335 ) 



OUR COL' MY AAD ITS PEOPLE 

livan, Nathan Prentice Avery, James AVatson Flannery, Kobert 
Chapiii Parker, James John Sullivan, Edward Joseph Tierney, 
Burt Harding Winn, AVilliam C. Haywood, John Henri Brown, 
Fred Porter Squier, James Arthur Kobeson. 

1897 — Harold Phelps ]Moseley, William P. Buckley, Miles 
Casey, Samuel jMcWhorter, James O'Shea, Richard Francis 
Twiss, Stuart ]Mill Kobson, James Fiske Hooker. 

1897— James O'Donnell, Abraham Ebenezer Snow, Thomas 
J. Lynch, John INIcKean, James Hamilton, Scott Adams, Chai'les 
Flagg Spellman, Clinton Gowdy, James Weston Carney, Frank 
Sumner Rice. Michael John Griffin, Fred Fox Bennett. 

1898— Elva Hubbard Young. 

1899— Charles L. Young, David Francis Dillon, Richard 
James Talbot, Wayland Victor James, Harry Alonzo Buzzell. 

1900— Harry Bancroft Putnam, Charles Spellman Bullard, 
Hartley Reed Walker, AVilliam Henry Hawkins, Edward William 
Beattie, jr., Robert Chester Goodale, Ernest Emery Hobson, 
Freelove Quincy Ball, Arthur Stewart Anderson. 

1901 — Joseph Francis Carmody, Clarence INIills Seymour, 
Simon H. Kugel. 

llie Hampden Bar Association, under its present form and 
constitution, was organized in 1864, although an association less 
formal in character and without a written record, dates back in 
its history to the early years of the nineteenth century. Of the 
purposes, history or traditions of the earlier organization we have 
little knowledge, yet it is mentioned as a worthj^ institution in the 
ainials of the old bar. 

On October 20, 1864, at a meeting of the bar held at the 
court house in Springfield, the Hampden Bar association Avas per- 
manently organized, a constitution was adopted and governing 
officers were elected. The object of the organization, as set forth 
in its declaration of principles, was "to establish a fair and uni- 
form rate of compensation for professional services ; to discoun- 
tenance and prevent the abuse of legal process by membei^s of the 
bar or by unsuitable and unqualified persons ; to ensure conform- 
ity to a high standard of professional duty: and to promote a 
kindly and fraternal feeling among those who are engaged in 
professional conflict." 

( 336 ) 



BENCH AM) BAR 

The first officers chosen were : William G. Bates, president ; 
Henry Morris, vice-president; George B. ^lorris, secretary and 
treasurer; Edward B. Gillett, George M. Stearns, Alexander L. 
Soule, executive committee. 

Thus launched into existence, the association entered upon a 
career of usefulness under the fostering care of president Bates, 
the "father" and the historian of the bar; and, unlike the ma- 
jority of organizations of its kind, the association has continued 
in existence to the present time, although officers have been in- 
frequently chosen and at times it has appeared that dissolution 
was imminent, but upon the taking oft' of some old professional 
associate the surviving members always have assembled together 
to pay a last tribute of respect to the memory of him who has 
been called, and having laid their friend in the grave they return 
to the appointed walks of life and not infrequently say to one 
another: "Well, who shall be next to go?" 

The second meeting at which officers were elected was held 
in March, 1877, when AVilliam G. Bates was re-elected president ; 
Henry Morris, vice-president; Robert 0. Morris, secretary and 
treasurer : and Gillett, Stearns and Soule constituting the execu- 
tive committee, as in 1864. 

In October. 1893, another meeting for the election of officers 
was held, and it may readily be seen by the changes in the offi- 
ciary that the destroyer had not been idle. The ucav officers 
were: George D. Robinson, president; Timothy M. BroA\Ti, 
vice-president : Robert 0. IMorris, secretary and treasurer ; and 
Edward H. Lathrop, Charles L. Long and Loranus E. Hitch- 
cock, executive committee. 

In November, 1896, Timothy M. Brown was chosen presi- 
dent; Charles L. Gardner, vice-president; Robert 0. Morris, sec- 
retary and treasurer ; and Lathrop, Long and Hitchcock, execu- 
tive committee. 

President Timothy :\I. Brown died in March. 1897. upon 
which vice-president Charles L. Gardner became ex-offlcio presi- 
dent. 



--1 ( 337 ) 



CHAPTER XIX 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 



When Ave consider the importance and elevated charac+er of 
the science of medicine— its object, the preservation of the health 
and lives, the healing of diseases, and the amelioration of the 
physical and mental snfterings of our fellow human beings— its 
extent embracing a knowledge of all science, it is evident that 
medical education should engage the earnest attention of the en- 
tire profession. The advances made in all branches of science 
and especially in the science of medicine during the past century 
have exceeded in extent and value those of all past ages, and it is 
no longer possible to compress its vast domain within the narrow 
limits of the "seven professorships." The present age owes its 
wonderful progress to experimental and scientific research. 

The dawning of medical science which now sheds its light 
throughout the world began with Hippocrates nearly 2300 years 
ago. He wrote extensively, and nuich of his Avork Avas translated 
and served as the foundation for the succeeding literature of the 
profession. He relied chiefly on the healing poAvers of nature, 
his remedies being exceedingly simple. He taught that the peo- 
ple ought not to load themselves Avith excrements, or keep them 
in too long; and for this reason he prescribed "meats proper for 
loosening the belly." and if these failed he directed the use of 
the clysters. 

Through all the centuries from the beginning of the Chris- 
tian era doAvn to the time of the discovery of the circulation of 
the blood by Harvey, 1619, medicine shed but a glimmering light 
in the midst of the darkness then enshrouding the Avorld, and the 

( 338 ) 



THE MEDICAL FKOFESSION 

greatest strides in the advancement of the various branches of 
medical science have been made in the last one hundred years, 
and most of them may be placed to the credit of the last half 
century. Aniony the thousands of elements which comprise this 
century of advancement mention will be made of but one, and 
that among- the first discoveries, the use of anaesthetics, which be- 
numb the nerves of sensation and produce a profound yet tran- 
quil state of insensibility, during which the most formidable 
operation may be performed while the patient sleeps, and the sur- 
geon is left to the pleasing I'etiection that he is causing neither 
pain nor suffering. 

There are to-day known to l)otanists over 140,000 plants, a 
large proportion of which is being constantly added to our 
already appalling list of "new remedies." Many of these drugs 
possess little, if any, real virtue, except as their sale adds to the 
exchecpier of some enterprising pharmacist. A drug house in 
Boston recently issued a circular in which was advertised :53 
syrups, 42 elixirs, 93 solid extracts, 150 varieties of sugar-coated 
pills, 236 tinctures, 245 roots, barks, herbs, seeds and flow'ers, 322 
fluid extracts, and 348 general drugs and chemicals. The an- 
cients were not so well supplied with drugs. It was a custom 
among the Babylonians to expose the sick to the view of passers- 
by. in order to learn of them if they had been afflicted with a like 
distemper, and by what remedies they had been cured. It was 
also a custom of those days for all persons who had been sick to 
put up a tablet in the temple of Esculapius, wherein they gave 
an account of the remedies that had restored them to health. 
Previous to the time of Hippocrates all medicine w^as in the hands 
of the priests, and was associated with numerous superstitions, 
such as s.vaiipathetic ointments applied to the weapon with which 
a wound had been made, incantations, charms, amulets, the royal 
touch for the cure of scrofula, human or horse flesh for the cure 
of epilepsy, convulsions treated with human brains. 

AVhile all this credulous superstition of early ages, born of 
ignorance, existed to a vastly large extent, it has not been fully 
wiped out l)y the genei'ally advanced education of the present 
day. 

( 339 ) 



OCR COUMY AXB ITS PEOPLE 

There is, perhaps, no department of medicine at the present 
time more promising of good results than sanitary science. While 
physiologj' and pathology are making known to us the functions 
of the human body and the nature and cause of disease, sanitary 
science is steadily teaching how the causes of disease may be re- 
moved and health thereby secured. Progress during the com- 
ing one hundred yeai's, if only equal to that of the past, will more 
than have accomplished great works in the advancement of sani- 
tary- science: but the accomplishment of this work calls not only 
for the labor of the physician, but for the intelligent co-operation 
of the people. If anything really great is to be done in the way 
of sanitary improvement, and of preventing disease and death, 
it must be done largely by the people themselves. This implies 
that they must be instructed in sanitary science, nnist be taught 
that unsanitary conditions most favor the origin of disease, how 
disease is spread, and the means of its prevention. If it is true 
that that knowledge is of the greatest value which teaches the 
means of self-preservation, then the importance of a widespread 
knowledge of how to prevent disease and premature death can- 
not be overestimated. 

But what can be said in these pages of the medical profes- 
sion of Hampden county — a profession which has recorded so 
little of its own history? True, there are meagre data concerning 
the various medical societies, the oldest dating to the year 1840, 
but what can be said of the profession previous to that time, for 
the citj' of Springfield dates its history from 1636. when William 
Pynchon and his associates planted their famous colony on the 
eastern bank of Connecticut river. 

Previous to the act of 1781, creating the Massachusetts Med- 
ical society, there were no regulations regarding the practice of 
medicine, and no special standard of excellence or education was 
prerequisite to admission to the ranks of the profession. During 
the colonial period under the British dominion medical men were 
few and there were no safeguards to protect the practice; and in- 
deed, there was little need of legal strictures of any kind, as the 
profession at that time was in no wise crowded and its represent- 
atives were men of the highest character and reputation, and 
quacks and charlatans were unknown. 

( 340 ) 



TEE MEDICAL FEOFESSION 

A ceutiiry and more ago physicians began practice under 
many difficulties. There were few schools of medicine in the 
country, and then young students could not afford the expense 
necessary to qualify themselves for a profession which promised 
so little pecuniary reward ; hence it was the custom of the period 
for the aspirant to enter the office of some practicing physician 
and read medicine two or three years, at the same time to accom- 
pany his tutor in his professional visits and learn his methods of 
treatment. At the end of his term the young doctor would seek 
some promising field and begin jn-actice. However, this disci- 
pline served a useful purpose, giving individual strength, confi- 
dence and self-reliance to the physician, and a proper respect 
for his profession on the part of those with whom he was brought 
into association. Frequently the doctor was chosen to places 
of responsibility in public life. and. on equal footing with the 
parish minister, was one of the most frequently consulted men in 
his locality. 

On November 18, 1781, the ]Massachusetts Medical society 
received its charter, with broad powers and with authority to 
grant licenses to practice medicine to the same extent as was con- 
ferred by the legislature upon any university; and when Harvard 
college received its charter a controversy arose between that in- 
stitution and the society relative to the right to grant licenses and 
confer degrees. The matter was settled by compromise, yet we 
understand that the legal status of the society was on a plane 
with that of the university. A candidate who successfully 
passed the censors ' examination, without other eviaence of quali- 
fication, was a licentiate and held a position similar to that in our 
time obtained through the authority of the state board of medical 
examiners. 

Tradition says that Dr. John Sherman was one of the 
earliest, if not the first, physician in what is now Hampden 
county, and that he was both school teacher and doctor in Spring- 
field in 1709. In 1728 Dr. John Leonard is mentioned in the 
records as having received a fee from the town in payment for 
medical attendance on an indigent patient. Between the years 
1761 and 1783 the physicians practicing in Springfield were 

( 341 ) 



OUK COUNTY AM) ITS PEOPLE 

Charles Pviichon, Ethvard Chapin, John Vanhoni and Timothy 
Cooper. To this list there shovild be added the name of Dr. 
Chauneey Brewer, who lived in AVest Springfield and practiced 
in that town and in Springfield, across the river, and also of other 
prominent early physicians in the outlying towns, of whom some 
mention will be made in subsequent paragraphs. 

During the period of fifty-nine years from 1781 to 1840, 
when the Hampden District Aledieal society was incorporated, 
there Avere thirty-two physicians in the county who were mem- 
bers of the State jNledieal society. They were Drs. Joseph Pyn- 
ehon, Charles Pynchon, Joshua Frost, George Frost, M. B. Baker, 
L. W. Belden, David Bemis, Oliver Bliss, AA'illiam Bridgman, 
Reuben Champion, Alonzo Chapin. AV. L. Fitch, John Vanhorn, 
Chauneey Brewer, (Jideon Kibbe, Aaron King, S. Kingsbury, 
Seth Lathroi), Jonathan Shearer, (ieorge Hooker, J. W. Brew- 
ster, Bela B. Jones. John Long, Leonard AYilliams, AV. Sheldon, 
E. G. Ufford, J. G. DeChene, Lucius AA^right, John Stone, J. H. 
Flint and Samuel Mather. Of these physicians there were sev- 
eral who Avere well known in public and professional life and who 
had splendid abilities for the time in Avhich they lived. They 
received and imparted knowledge through office instruction and 
clinical observations matle by medical preceptors on private 
patients. It was in this time that students are said to have 
studied and driven with their teachers in medicine. Since med- 
ical colleges then Avere in their infancy they Avere unable to fur- 
nish excellent opportunities for personal observations on the 
sick, and also Avere lacking in facilities for laboratory Avork. 

Reminiscences.— Joseph. Pynchon, son of Col. John Pynchon 
and a descendant in the fifth generation of the founder of Spring- 
field. Avas born in 1705, in the "old fort" or Pynchon residence 
Avhich stood Avhere noAV is the Springfield Fire and Marine build- 
ing. He Avas educated both for the ministry and the medical 
profession, and for a time devoted himself to clerical Avork, but 
later to the practice of medicine in LongmeadoAV. He is recalled 
as a man of high character and excellent ability, and at one time 
Avas a member of the general court. 

Charles Pynchon, brother of Joseph, Avas born in Spring- 
field in 1819, in the Pynchon residence, and spent the greater part 

( 342 ) 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 

of his life in the town. All his biographers agree that Dr. Pyn- 
chon was a man of excellent understanding and a physician of 
good repute, having a large practice, and also that many medical 
students acquired their early professional training under his per- 
sonal instruction. His office was on Main street, the second 
house above Ferry street. In 1777 Dr. Pynchon was a surgeon 
in the American army. He died Aug. 19, 1783. 

Joshua Frost, one of the earliest physicians of Springfield, 
was born in jNIaine in 1767, of English parentage. He was edu- 
cated for his profession in Dartmouth college and Harvard uni- 
versity, and in 1796 located in Longmeadow Avhere he remained 
a few years and then removed to Springfield. He enjoyed an 
excellent reputation as a physician, and as a citizen he was hon- 
ored wdth a seat in the state senate. Dr. Frost died in 1832. 

George Frost, son of Joshua, was born in Longmeadow in 
1800, and acquired his early medical education under the instruc- 
tion of Dr. Nathan Smith, whom he accompanied in lecturing 
tours. He studied medicine in Yale and also in Bowdoin, was 
graduated at the latter in 1822, and began practice in Spring- 
field in 1823. He lived in the town until his death, in 1846. Dr. 
Frost's wife was a daughter of Col. Eosw^ell Lee, who for some 
time was commander at Fort Griswold (New London, Conn.) 
during the Avar of 1812-15. 

Samuel W. Belden was born in 1801. He pursued scientific 
and medical studies in Yale, graduated in 1826, and began his 
professional career in Springfield in 1827. He became a mem- 
ber of the State Medical society in 1835, and died in 1839, aged 
38 years. 

M. B. Baker was a graduate of Harvard in 1830, and located 
in Springfield the next year. He became a member of the State 
Medical society in 1836, and died in 1839, at the age of 33 years. 

David Bemis became a member of the state society in 1832, 
but of his early life and education we have little knoAvledge. He 
practiced about tAventy-five years in Chicopee, and died in 1852, 
at the age of fifty-four years. At one time Dr. Bemis Avas presi- 
dent of the Hampden District ]\Iedical society, and is recalled as 
one of its most AA'orthy members. 

( 343 ) 



OIB COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Oliver Bliss was made a iiieniber of the state society in 1822. 
He practiced for several years iu Longmeadow, and is understood 
as having descended from one of the first settlers in that vicinity. 
He died in 1840, aged sixty-eight years. 

William Bridgman was born in 1784, and Avas one of the 
board of organization of the Hampden District Medical society. 
He is remembered as one of the leading physicians of his day in 
the vicinity of the county seat. He became a member of the state 
society in 1822, and died in 1864. 

Reuben Champion was one of the foremost physicians of his 
time, and was descended from good old revolutionary stock, his 
grandfather having served as surgeon during the war, dying at 
Ticonderoga in 1777. Dr. Reuben Champion acquired his early 
education iu the old Westfield academy, and his medical educa- 
tion at Dartmouth and also in a school for medical instruction in 
New York. He began practice in West Springfield in 1809, and 
joined the state society in 1812. His practice covered a period 
of half a century, and he died in 1865. In his practice he 
adopted the "tonic treatment" of fever cases, a theory then much 
opposed by the profession ; but he was a physician of excellent 
reputation, and an upright and honored citizen. The civil list 
shows that Dr. Champion served as state senator. 

Alonzo Chapin appears on the roll of the state society in 
1836, as a resident of Springfield, but few records of his life's 
work are now obtainable. He is believed, however, to have been 
descended from the ancestor of the Chapins— Deacon Samuel 
Chapin. the Puritan— whose statue adorns the library park. 

W. L. Fitch, of whom recollections are meager, joined the 
state society in 1837. He practiced for a time in Chester Vil- 
lage, now Huntington, and then removed to Springfield, where 
he lived many years. He died in 1872, at the age of 69 years. 

John Vanhorn was one of the old-time physicians of Spring- 
field ; was born in 1726, graduated at Yale in 1749, and joined the 
state society in 1785. For nearly sixty years he practiced in 
West Springfield, and is said to have been a man of more than 
ordinary professional prominence. He died in 1805. 

Chauncey Brewer was another of the old-time physicians of 
Springfield, a native of the town, born in 1743. He received his 

( 344 ) 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 

professional education in Yale Medical college, and is remem- 
bered as a physician of excei)tional strength for his time ; but he 
is held in especial remembrance by the profession on account of 
his faithful services in the American army during the revolution. 
He was a student with Dr. Charles Pynchon and began his profes- 
sional career in AVest Springtield, removing to the east side of the 
river on the death of his old preceptor and occupying an office 
about where now is Cypress street. Dr. Brewer died in 1837, at 
the age of 87 years. Daniel Chauncey Brewer, son of Chaun- 
cey, studied for the medical profession, but soon afterward be- 
came partner with Dr. Joshua Frost and carried on a drug busi- 
ness in the store now occupied by the firm of II. & J. Brewer, on 
Main street. 

Gideon Kibbe was a highly respected physician of Wilbra- 
ham, where he practiced for thirty-seven years previous to his 
death, in 1859. He became a member of the state society in 1822. 

Aaron King, of Palmer, became a member of the society in 
1816, and died in 1861. For many years he was one of the highly 
respected medical practitioners of the eastern part of the county, 
and he is also remembered as having been one of the organizers, 
and at one time president, of the Hampden district society. In 
the latter part of his life Dr. King investigated Homoeopathy, 
and is said to have approved of some of its principles and 
methods. 

Samuel Kingsbury was born in Tolland, Conn., in Septem- 
ber, 1782, and practiced medicine in Springfield from 1810 to 
'26. He became a member of the state society in 1816. 

Seth Lathrop. son of Rev. Dr. Joseph Lathrop, was born in 
the second parish of Springfield (West Springfield), in 1762, and 
is remembered as one of the strongest as well as one of the most 
thoroughly educated of the old-time physicians of the county. 
His practice was extensive and successful, and he also had the 
confidence and respect of the people on the east side of the river. 
He was made a fellow of the state society in 1817, and continued 
in membership until his death in 1831. 

Jonathan Shearer, of Palmer, Avas born in 1767, became a 
member of the society in 1811, and died in 1825. His home and 

( 345 ) 



OVB cor MY AM) ITS PEOPLE 

office "vvere on the Boston road, betAveen wliat is now Collins and 
Palmer stations. lie was followed in practice by his son, Marcus 
Shearer, who joined the district society in 1841, and died in 1854. 

George Hooker was born in 1794, and was admitted to fellow- 
ship in the state society in 1821. He practiced in Longmeadow 
and is remembered as a physician of good repute and a citizen 
of undoubted integrity. Di-. Hooker died in 1884, at the ripe age 
of 90 years. 

Joseph AV. Brewster, of Blandford. was made a fellow of tha 
state society in 1804. He died in 1849, but of his life and pro- 
fessional work we have no reliable data. 

Leonard Williams, of Chester, united with the society in 
1822, and became a retired member in 1827. Of his professional 
career little is now known. 

Bela Barber Jones was made a fellow in 1822, and a score of 
years later assisted in organizing the district society. He after- 
ward removed from the state. 

William Sheldon became a fellow in 1811, and died in 1817. 
None of his cotemporaries are living, and there is no record of 
his place of residence or the extent and character of his practice. 

Edward Coodrich Uft'ord, of West Springfield and Agawam, 
was born in East Windsor, Conn., in 1801, became a fellow of the 
society in 1839, and died August 28, 1889. He studied medicine 
with Dr. Daniel UfFord of Wilbraham and also with Dr. Peters 
of Bolton, Conn. He received his degree from Yale and then 
took a post-graduate course in Philadelphia. He practiced for 
a few years in West Springfield, thence removed to South Hadley, 
but returned to West Springfield and Agawam, where he gained 
an enviable standing in the ranks of his profession. 

Lucius Wright, once Avell known in medical circles in at 
least three towns of Hampden county, and withal an excellent 
physician of the old school, was born in 1793 and became a mem- 
ber of the society in 1821. He began his professional career in 
Willimansett, later practiced in Salem and Montgomery, and 
finally located in Westfield, where he attained considerable 
prominence and represented that town in the general court. 

John Stone was born in Eutland, INIass., in 1763. He had 
the advantages of a good elementary as well as medical educa- 

( 346 ) 



THE MEDICAL riWEESSWS 

tion, and in his mature life was known as one of the most genteel 
and scholarly professional men in the community. He read 
medicine with Dr. John Frink and began his career in Green- 
field, removing thence to New York, where he remained about two 
years. Returning to Greenfield, he practiced in that town until 
1819, and spent the next ten years in Providence. He then came 
to Springfield and practiced until his death in 1838. Dr. Stone 
is remembered as a successful physician and one of the few old- 
time practitioners to acquire a competency. His membership 
in the society dates from 1803. and his honorary degree of M. D. 
was acquired from Williams college in 1824. 

John Long Avas an early practitioner in that part of West 
Springfield knoAvn as Ireland, where now is the industrial city of 
Holyoke, but as to when and whence he came and of the period 
of his residence there we have no reliable data. He was made 
a fellow of the society in 1808. 

Levi A¥. Humphreys, of Southwick, was made a fellow in 
1822, and in 1840 was one of the organizers of the district society. 
He died in 1850, and is remembered as a good country prac- 
titioner. 

Joseph Henshaw Flint, Avho was made a fellow of the state 
society in 1822, -was born in Leicester, AVorcester county, April 
20, 1786, and began his professional career in Petersham. Later 
on he located temporarily in Northampton, and removed thence 
to Springfield in 1837. Three years later he was one of the 
organizers of the district society, and for several years after was 
one of its most prominent members. Dr. Flint died in 1846. He 
was regarded as one of the most successful physicians of the 
town during his brief residence here, but his family name after- 
ward came into especial prominence in the medical world through 
the remarkable success of his son (by his first marriage), Dr. 
Austin Flint, of New York, whose writings and lectures on med- 
ical subjects have since been standard authority with the profes- 
sion. 

James Holland. Avho became a fellow in the society in 1822, 
was one of the prominent early physicians in the western part of 
what now is Hampden county. He was born in 1762, and ac- 

( 347 ) 



OUR coixry axb its people 

quired his inedieal education with Dr. Brewster, of Beeket. He 
practiced for a time iu Chester village, now Huntington, and in 
Worthington and located permanently in Westfield in 1815 ; and 
he died in that town in 1840. Dr. Holland is recalled as a phy- 
sician of far more than ordinary prominence for his time and 
opportunities ; and that he loved the work of his profession is 
evidenced in the fact that four of his sons became physicians, and 
each of them attained an excellent standing in the community in 
which he lived. 

Samuel Mather was one of the pioneers of the state society, 
having been made a fellow in 1783. and he also was one of the 
early physicians in our county. The surname Mather always 
has been associated with the best history of this region, and it is 
regretted that we have no knowledge of the early life and career 
of this old-time practitioner. 

John Appleton is mentioned in the records of the state so- 
ciety as a fellow thereof, and also is elsewhere mentioned as one 
of the organizers of the district society and its first secretary, 
1840-42. 

It is not claimed in these reminiscences of early practitioners 
that mention is made of all the physicians of the county for the 
period indicated, for undoubtedly the actual members of the 
state society were largely outnumbered by those who were not 
members of that body. Indeed, many of the leading physicians 
of the period are known not to have aifiliated with the society, 
not that they were opposed to its principles or purpose, or doubt- 
ful of its permanency, but rather that they saw no immediate 
benefit in such membership, hence did not avail themselves of its 
privileges. 

The old societ3% however, served a useful purpose in promot- 
ing social intercourse among its fellows, and it was the first legis- 
lative step in the direction of safeguarding the profession in the 
state. In 1803 an amendatory act extended the powers of the 
society and authorized the formation of subordinate societies, the 
jurisdiction of which shoidd be limited to counties or districts, 
and which should be conducted as auxiliary to the older organiza- 
tion. Members of the state society were, and still are, eligible 
candidates for admission to the district societies. 

( 348 ) 



THE MEDICAL I'UOFESSION 

For more than a century the Connecticut valley in IMassachu- 
setts lias been noted for the strength of its medical profession, but 
nowhere in the entire region has there developed greater mental 
and moral worth than within the limits of our own county. From 
the time of the pioneer doctor in the little hamlet of Springfield 
on the bank of the Connecticut river to the beginning of the 
twentieth century, throughout all the changes of two hundred 
and fifty years, each succeeding generation of the profession has 
been represented bj^ men of high character, splendid mental at- 
tainments and commendable ambition. Some of them have at- 
tained positions of prominence in the medical world, while others 
have sought and added civil and political honors to their profes- 
sional achievements. But in glancing backward over the long 
list of hundreds of physicians who have devoted at least a part of 
their lives and energies to professional pursuits in the county the 
number "not approved" by their medical brethren and the gen- 
eral public has been exceedingly small. To be sure, in a common- 
wealth whose scheme of government is framed on broad and al- 
most unlimited principles of freedom of personal action, charla- 
tans occasionally have found a temporary abiding place in the 
ranks of the profession, but while the legitimate practice of medi- 
cine has not always been safe-guarded against the incursions of 
quacks, a discriminating public has driven them from the field; 
and now even the remote possibilitj^ of a pretender is precluded 
through the establishment, in 1894, of the state medical board of 
registration, before whom all candidates must appear before a 
license to practice will issue. All legitimate schools of medicine 
now are recognized, and each applicant is subjected to rigid ex- 
amination before a license is granted. 

However, let us again glance back into the early years of the 
last century and note briefly something of the lives, character and 
works of those who attained prominence in the ranks of the pro- 
fession, although none appear to have been affiliated with any 
medical society. 

' ' The Drs. Holland of Westfield ' ' was for many years a con- 
cise way in which the profession generally made allusion to sev- 
eral respected associates who long were prominent characters in 

( 349 ) 



OIR COIXTY AXD ITS PEOPLE 

the history, medical and otherwise, of that part of the county. 
In an earlier paragraph mention is made of Dr. James Holland, 
Avho became a member of the state society in 1822, yet none of the 
worthy practitioner's sons, four of whom entered the profession, 
appear to have become fellows in that body. Of 'these sons 
Homer Holland was born in Blandford, was educated in Yale 
and Berkshire Medical schools, located in Westfield and practiced 
in that town and vicinity from 1842 to 1856. Eugene Holland 
and William Holland, sons of Homer, likewise entered the profes- 
sion, and Henry Holland, another son, has been engaged in the 
drug business in AVestfield more than sixty years. 

Virgil Holland, second son of James, was born in 180;-5, and 
ac(iuired his early medical instruction from his father. He gave 
promise of a splendid rise in professional work, but his career was 
prematurely cut off by death in 1832. 

James Holland, jr., was born in 1815, studied medicine with 
his father, and was a graduate of the medical department of the 
University of New York. He began practice in ^Vestfield in 
1848. and for the next half century there was no more prominent 
figure than he in professional circles in western Hampden county. 
He was an earnest worker, a close and careful student, and of 
course he attained success, not only in professional life, but also 
in the social and public affairs of the town. Dr. Charles Jenkins 
Holland, another son of James, senior, was educated for the pro- 
fession, and practiced in Chester Village, now Huntington ; but 
he died comparatively young, at the age of 36 years. 

Jeiferson Church was a native of jMicldlefield, Hampshire 
county, born in 1802, and in 1825 was graduated at Berkshire 
INIedical college. He practiced one year in Peru, Berkshire 
county, and then removed to Springfield, where the best years of 
his life were spent, and where he attained a standing of promi- 
nence in the ranks of the profession, not alone as a practitioner 
but as publisher in 1850, in association with Dr. Edgar Seeger, 
of "Tully's Materia Medica," a work which for a long time was 
regarded as standard authority. He also took an eai'nest interest 
in public affairs and was known as an intense anti-slavery advo- 
cate. Dr. Church died in Springfield in 1885, aged 83 years. 

( 350 ) 



TEE MEDICAL PEOFE^^ION 

Edward Seeger, eo-worker with Dr. Church in publishing 
Dr. Tully's medical manuscripts, was born in Northampton in 
1811. and was of German ancestry. He graduated at Jefferson 
Medical college in 1832, and at once located foi- practice in 
Springfield. Thereafter he was a conspicuous figure in local 
professional and political circles for thirty-four years, until his 
death in 1866. Politically Dr. Seeger affiliated with the aboli- 
tionists and free-soilers, and was one of their ablest exponents of 
]nirty principles. He also was a logical writer on medical and 
political subjects, and as a practitioner he had few peers in the 
county seat. Dr. Seeger's first wife was a sister of the late 
Homer Foot. 

W. L. Loring, a graduate of Harvard ^Medical school, was a 
practitioner in Springfield something like five years, beginning 
about 1825 ; but Dr. Loring, while a man of excellent capacity, 
unfortunately did not enjoy a lucrative practice, hence to re- 
plenish his purse he had recourse to an unlawful expedient, 
"body snatching." disposing of his "subjects" by sale to various 
medical institutions. For this fiagrant violation of law and pro- 
priety the doctor was arrested and brought to bar, tried, found 
guilty and sentenced to pay a fine of $500. Soon afterward he 
removed from this locality, and thenceforth the dead in the 
Springfield graveyards were permitted to rest in peace. 

James Swan, a graduate of Harvard and Jefferson jNIedical 
colleges, located in Springfield in 1834 and continued in active 
practice until 1836, when he died. He was a physician of excel- 
lent repute, a man of fine social qualities and a respected citizen. 
Outside of professional Avork he was a firm advocate of temper- 
ance and also was an ardent Odd Fellow. 

Henry Bronson, who jn-acticed a few years in West Spring- 
field, came to that town directly from his medical course in Yale, 
having graduated in 1827. Three years later he removed to Al- 
bany, where he gained celebrity as a writer on scientific and med- 
ical subjects and relinquished active practice in 1860. In 1872 
he was called to a professorship in the medical department of 
Yale. 

Calvin Wheeler was aii early practitioner in Feeding Hills 
parish when that region was a part of West Springfield. He 

( 351 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

served as surgeon in the American army during the second war 
with Great Britain, and is remembered as a good physician for his 
time, although his methods at times were crude. He died in 1861. 

Chauncey Belden, who practiced in West Springfield and its 
vicinity for ten years beginning in 1832, was a graduate of Yale 
jNledical school in 1829, and after leaving college he was for a time 
an assistant in the Hartford retreat for insane persons. In con- 
nection with professional work Dr. Belden gave special attention 
to scientific studies and was regarded as a man of wide under- 
standing in all professional and social circles. He removed to 
South Hadley in 1842, and died there three years afterward. 
Herbert C. Belden, who began practice in West Springfield in 
1871, and was a graduate of the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons of New York, was a son of Chauncey Belden. 

William Tully, whose portrait accompanies this brief sketch, 
was one of the most distinguished medical practitioners and 
scholars who ever honored the profession with a presence and 
residence in this county. Yet he was little understood and still 
less appreciated, for he lived, practiced and taught at least half a 
century in advance of his time. Later on, in comparatively re- 
cent years, many of the principles he advanced during the first 
half of the past century have come to be recognized truths with 
the world at large, and " Tully 's powdei's" even uow are regard- 
ed as a sovei-eign remedy with certain persons. Having been 
given the advantages of an excellent elementary education, Will- 
iam Tully began the study of medicine in 1807 under the instruc- 
tion of Dr. Coggswell, of Hartford, and in the following year he 
attended lectures in the medical department of Dartmouth. 
Later on his attention was chiefly devoted to increasing his un- 
derstanding of elementary medicine, after which he was licensed 
to practice by the president and fellows of the Connecticut Medi- 
cal society. In 1819 he received the honorary Yale degree of 
Doctor of Medicine. In 1811 he began practice in Enfield, the 
next year removed to Milford, and thence in 181fi to Middletown. 
In 1820 he published an article on the "Ergot of Rye," and in 
1823, in association with Dr. Thomas ]\Iiner, he issued a volume 
entitled "p]ssays on Fevers and other Medical Subjects." This 

( 352 ) 




William TuUy, M. D. 



23-1 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

publication called forth much comment on the part of the profes- 
sion, but afterward the teachings of his work received the indorse- 
ment of his medical brethren. In 1826 he removed to Albany, 
N. Y., where he practiced with marked success, and at the same 
time he delivered lectures in the medical school at Castleton, Ver- 
mont. While in Albany he published a prize essay on ' ' Sanguin- 
aria Canadensis," a scientific and scholarly paper on indigenous 
materia medica, and thereby added laurels to his wreath of fame. 
In 1829 he removed to New Haven and succeeded Dr. Ives in the 
chair of materia medica in Yale, at the same time continuing his 
lectures in Castleton, but as his income from these sources was 
quite small he published, in 1832, an exhaustive paper on "Nar- 
cotine, and Sulphate of Morphine," which attracted much atten- 
tion in medical circles. 

Dr. Tully came to Springfield in 1851, and from that time to 
his death in 1859 he was a prominent figure, devoting himself to 
active practice and also to the authorship of various works on 
medical subjects. Drs. Church and Seeger published in two 
large volumes his work on ''Materia Medica," and "Pharma- 
cology and Therapeutics," and while his manuscripts were not 
fully completed, the work was regarded as standard authority. 
His knowledge of botany was extensive and also was very correct, 
and he was an expert, almost without a rival, in organic and phar- 
maceutical chemistry. With physiology and pathology he was 
fully familiar, and thorough knowledge of Latin and Greek were 
his special acquisitions. Dr. Noah Webster and Prof. Goodrich 
depended upon his assistance in furnishing definitions in anat- 
omy, physiology, medicine and botany for their dictionary publi- 
cations of the period. As a man his character was superlatively 
positive, often unfortunately so, for his mind was so far above 
that of ordinary persons that he could not please the public, 
hence he was not a popular physician with the masses. Dr. 
Bronson once said of him: "Sum up all his imperfections and 
deduct them from his merits and there is enough left to make a 
man — a whole man and a great man." 

Among the other old-time medical practitioners of the coun- 
ty previous to the incorporation of the district medical society, 

( 354 ) 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 

and none of whom were members of that body nor of the state 
society, there may be remembered the names of Dr. Caswell, of 
Ludlow, who enjoyed an excellent reputation as a country doc- 
tor; Dr. Marcus Cady, of South AVilbraham, and his brother, 
Henry Cady, of Monson, both physicians of good repute ; Dr. Mc- 
Kinstry, of Monson ; Dr. Johnson, of Granville ; Ezra Osborne, of 
Springfield, who practiced from 1815 to 1830 ; Dr. Swan, who 
lived and practiced on "Springfield hill," as that localitj^ then 
was known ; Samuel Belden, who was here about 1840 ; Dr. Spar- 
hawk, whose period of practice was about 1820 ; Ebenezer Jones, 
of West Springfield, who removed to the eastern part of the 
state; Timothy Horton, a most excellent man, but who, being 
wealthy, practiced for very small fees, much to the discourage- 
ment of his professional associates ; Dr. Dunham, of West Spring- 
field, of whom little is now known ; Edward McCrea, who settled 
in Agawam in 1832, and died in 1859 ; Sumner Ives, who was 
born in the "Ireland parish" as the north part of West Spring- 
field was once known, and who practiced in that locality from 
1826 to 1831. when he removed to Suffield ; Solomon Chapman, 
who succeeded Dr. Ives in 1832, and who, in turn, was succeeded 
in 1850 by Dr. Lawson Long. 

In the same manner also may be mentioned the names of 
Edward Strong, graduate of Harvard Medical school in 1838, who 
retired from active j^rofessional work in 1845 and became associ- 
ated with the department of vital statistics in Boston ; Nathaniel 
Downs, who settled in West Springfield in 1857 and soon after- 
ward removed to the eastern part of the state ; George Filer, of 
Westfield, one of the early physicians of that town, who is said 
to have settled there about 1666, but who subsequently joined the 
Quaker colony on Long Island ; Israel Ashley, of Westfield, 
descendant of one of the colonists of Springfield, a graduate of 
Yale in 1730, and one of the best physicians of his day ; William 
Atwater, son of Rev. Noah Atwater of Westfield, a graduate of 
Yale and a practitioner in the town previous to 1830 ; Samuel 
Mather, of Westfield, who practiced about the time of the revolu- 
tion ; Joshua Sumner, of Westfield, who came about the time of 
the revolution and was noted for his sldll in surgery; Lucius 

( 355 ) 



01 R COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Wright, one of Westfield's most scholarly old-time physicians, a 
native of what now is Chicopee, and who died at the age of more 
than ninety years. 

Westfield, like Springfield, was noted as the abiding-place of 
many old-time physicians, and in addition to those previously 
mentioned we may recall the names of Dr. M. L. Robinson, one 
of the few men of medicine wlio was ])orn and educated in New 
York state and subsequently came to practice in the locality; 
Simeon Shurtleff, a native of Blandford, a pupil of Dr. Cooley's 
famous school in Granville, and a graduate of Amherst; William 
Orton Bell, a native of Chester and a graduate of the Berkshire 
Medical school ; Ellery C. Clarke, a graduate of the University of 
Vermont, and a surgeon in the army during the war of 1861-5. 

In Southwick we find the names of Isaac Coit, who is said to 
have been the first physician here, and a patriot of the revolu- 
tion; Drs. Jonathan Bill, J. W. Rockwell and a Dr. Norton; also 
Levi AY. Humphreys, the latter a charter member of the district 
society and one of its most earnest advocates. In Granville we 
find the names of Drs. Vincent Holcomb, and his son, Hubert 
Holcomb, the latter an army surgeon and afterward in practice 
in Blandford : Calvin King, who succeeded Dr. Holcomb ; Dr. 
BarloAV who removed to New York and became a convert to Homoe- 
opathy; Dr. Dwight, Avho died about twenty-five years ago: Dr. 
Johnson, who succeeded Dr. Dwight : Dr. Jesse Bigelow, who is 
said to have been the pioneer physician here. The names of Drs. 
C. W. Bartlett, Edward P. Mountain and Herbert G. Rockwell 
are associated with Granville history. 

Up in the mountainous regions of the western part of the 
county, in Chester, the profession was represented many years 
ago by such men as Dr. David Shepard. who was here previous to 
the revolution ; AYilliam Holland and JNIartin Phelps, the latter 
the successor of the former and a prominent figure in church and 
democratic political circles; Anson Boies, a native of Blandford; 
Dr. Ballard, successor to Dr. Boies, and who was in turn succeed- 
ed by Dr. DeAYolf ; Ebenezer Enunons, physician and geologist, 
and later professor of chemistry in Williams college ; Asahel Par- 
menter, son of Deacon Parmenter and who afterward removed to 

( 356 ) 



THE MEDICAL FEOEESSION 

Peunsylvania : Joseph L\ Abbott, who died comparatively young ; 
Dr. Crossett; Dr. Noah S. Bartlett; H. S. Lucas, a physician of 
more than ordinary reputation, and who combined knowledge of 
geology with that of medicine; and also Drs. Hall, AVright and 
Taylor, each of whom once was in practice in that town. In 
Blandford one of the very first physicians was Dr. Ashley, as 
early as 1745, and after him came Joseph W. Brewster, Silas P. 
Wright and William B. Miller, the latter having removed to 
Springfield about 187U. 

In Wilbraham we learn from authentic sources that the phy- 
sicians in earlier times were Drs. John Stearns, Gordon Percival, 
Samuel F. Merrick (a revolutionary patriot), Judah Bliss (about 
1800 j, Abiah Southworth, Converse Butler. Luther Brewer, 
Jacob Lyman, Elisha Ladd, Gideon Kibbe, Jesse W. Rice (a much 
respected and influential citizen as well as an excellent physi- 
cian), Edwin Thayer, Charles Bowker, Stebbins Foskit, Marcus 
Cady (in South Wilbraham), Abiel Bottom, William B. Carpen- 
ter, John Goodale, Daniel Utiord. Edwin ]McCray. In Wales the 
succession is about as follows : James Lawrence, 1746-78 ; Dud- 
ley Wade. 1779-8.3: Abel Sherman, 1783-86: Jeremiah Round, 
1787-89 : David Young, 1790-1802 ; Ferdinand Lethbridge, 1805- 
11; Thaddeus Fairbanks, 1812-15: Daniel Tiffany, 1812-22; 
Aaron Shaw, 1813-45 ; John Smith, 1815-65. 

In Holland the profession was early represented by Thomas 
Wallis (1786). Seth Smith, Ichabod Hyde (1812), David B. 
Dean, Joshua Richardson, Chileab B. Alerrick, Josiah Converse, 
Abiel Bottom, Josiah G. Wallis. the latter now in practice. 

The Longmeadow succession includes, among others, the 
names of Charles Pynchon. Joshua Frost, Oliver Bliss, Edwin 
McCray, Rial Strickland, George Hooker, Thomas L. Chapman, 
R. P. Markham. Eleazer S. Beebe, John A. McKinstry. 

In Monson the list includes the names of Joseph Gront and 
Dr. Anderson, about 1785: Ede Whittaker, 1790-1840, and Eph- 
raim Allen as his cotemporary: Oliver McKinstry. 1820-45; 
Reuben Gardner, about 1840: and also Drs. Ware. Cullen and 
Haywood. Isaac Carpenter, Alvin Smith, Homer A. Smith, Henry 
Cady, Marshall and David Calkins, George E. Fuller, F. W. Ellis, 
Charles W. Jackson and Harry A. Merchant. 

( 357 ) 



OVB COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

The Chieopee list of old-time physicians is somewhat imper- 
fect, yet among them may be recalled the names of Amos Skeele 
(1804-43), David Bemis (1832-52), J. R. Wilbur, William Jack- 
son Sawin, Alvord Norfolk, George Washington Denison (1846- 
73), William George Smith. 

In the Ludlow general list we find the names of Aaron John 
Miller (born 1750, served during the revolution, and died 1838), 
Francis Percival, Benjamin Trask (1777), Dr. Wood, Simpson 
Ellis, David Lyon, Sylvester Nash, Philip Lyon, Drs. Tainton, 
Sutton, Hunger and Hamilton, Estes Howe, Elijah Campbell, 
W. B. Alden, Dr. Bassett, R. G. English, AYilliam B. Miller; 
Henry M. T. Smith, Robert Wood, Dr. King, Benj. K. Johnson, 
T. W. Lyman. 

In Palmer the list is somewhat imperfect yet from extant 
records we glean the names of Jonathan Shearer, JNIarcus Shearer, 
Aaron King, Alanson Moody, Dr. White, Dr. Barron, Dr. Cum- 
mings, W. H. Stowe, J. K. AA^arren, A. C. Downing, Amasa Davis, 
Jason B. Thomas, F. W. Caulkins, Dr. Blair, William Walradt, 
and Silas Ruggles. 

In the histories of the several towns further allusion is made 
to early and present physicians. Had early legislation regarding 
the profession been mandatory instead of optional in respect to 
membership in the state and district societies, our record could be 
more complete ; and notwithstanding the fact that the names of 
hundreds of former physicians are noted in these pages, doubtless 
many more are omitted owing to the absence of reliable data con- 
cerning them. 

In 1850 the profession in Springfield was well represented, 
there being in practice at that time twenty-seven physicians, 
representing three schools. According to the village directory of 
that year, the physicians then here were Nathan Adams, Edmund 
C. Allen (homoeopath), Alfred Booth, AA'illiam G. Breck, AVill- 
iam Bridgman, C. C. Chaffee, Jefferson Church, William H. 
Cleaveland, R. G. AV. English, AA\ L. Fitch, Henry F. Gardner 
(botanic physician), James H. Gray, Ira Hatch, J. G. Holland, 
John Hooker, Charles P. Kibbe (botanic physician), Alfred 
Lambert, Warren McCray, Alexander S. McClean, Amos N. 

( 358 ) 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 

Pierce, Joseph C. Pynchon, George F. Rarasdell, Edwin Seeger, 
James M. Smith, Ebeuezer Snell (Springfield water cure), 
George W. Swazey (homoeopath), Henry R. Vaille. 

In the same year, by an act of the legislature passed April 
15, the Springfield Medical school was incorporated by William 
B. Calhoun, Reuben A. Chapman and James A. Smith, who with 
their associates were authorized to establish and maintain a school 
of medicine in the city, and also were authorized to hold real and 
personal estate to the amount of $100,000, the same to be devoted 
exclusively to the purposes of a medical school. This commend- 
able enterprise certainly fell into proper hands, and while at the 
time there was a demand for an institution of such character in 
the town, certain events, in part political in their nature, made 
the project undesirable, hence the subject soon afterward was 
dismissed from the public mind. 

HAMPDEN DISTRICT MEDICAL SOCIETY 

In explanation of the absence of much that is interesting in 
the early history of this organization, it may be said at the outset 
that all records of its transactions previous to May 30, 1875, were 
destroyed in a fire which took place on that date. The society 
itself was brought into existence May 30, 1840, at a time when the 
famous "log cabin" presidential campaign was at its height in 
New England, and indeed throughout the land, and the journal- 
istic as well as the public mind was so fully occupied with affairs 
political that a minor event, such as the organization of a district 
medical society, was permitted to pass without mention. 

According to the regularly printed pamphlets of the organ- 
ization, the Hampden District Medical society was instituted May 
30, 1840, under a charter granted by the councilors of the Massa- 
chusetts Medical society to Joseph H. Flint, William Bridgman, 
George Hooker, Aaron King, Bela B. Jones, Reuben Champion, 
John Appleton and L. W. Humphreys, each of whom is men- 
tioned in an earlier part of this chapter. They were the incorpo- 
rators and original members of the society, and appear to have 
been its only members during the first year. Dr. Champion was 
the first president, Dr. Bridgman the first vice-president, and Dr. 
Appleton the first secretary and treasurer. 

( 359 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

From the time of its incorporation to the present day the 
district medical society has maintained a healthful and progres- 
sive existence. The act of the legislature authorizing such organ- 
izations at the hands of the state society was passed in 1808, but 
the profession in this county was slow to avail itself of the privi- 
lege offered, and when that step was in fact taken the affairs of 
the new society were placed on a permanent basis and its con- 
tinued existence was fully assured. Neither the laws of the com- 
monwealth nor the authority of the state society compel member- 
ship on the part of physicians of any school, yet the representa- 
tives of the "regular" school have availed themselves of its bene- 
fits. Between 1840 and 1850 twenty-seven names, in addition to 
the incorporators, were placed on the rolls, and between 1850 and 
1860 fourteen other names were enrolled. During the first sixty 
years of its history, the aggregate membership in the society was 
more than 250 physicians, making no account of practitioners 
under any other school than those usually termed "regulars." 

As provided in the by-laws the district medical society con- 
sists of all the fellows of the state medical society residing in 
Hampden county, and none other. It is the duty of each member 
to attend all the meetings of the society, "and to communicate 
any instructive case that may occur in his practice, any useful 
discovery that he may make in medicine or surgery or the allied 
sciences, and any invention that may have practical application 
in the same." In their relations with each other, with their 
patients, the profession at large, and the public, members are 
guided by the code of ethics of the Massachusetts Medical society. 
By general and proper compliance with these requirements the 
real purposes of the state and district societies are carried out for 
the welfare of the profession. 

Since its organization in 1840 the officers (presidents, vice- 
presidents, secretaries and treasurers) of the Hampden District 
INIedical society have been as follows : 

Preside nts — Reuben Champion, 1840-41 ; Aaron King, 1841- 
42 ; Joseph H. Flint, 1842-43 ; David Bemis, 1843-45 : John Smith, 
1845-46; William Bridgman, 1846-48: Silas P. Wright, 1848-49: 
Jesse W. Rice, 1849-51 ; James M. Smith, 1851-54; William Rridg- 

( 360 ) 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 

man, 1854-57 ; Nathan Adams, 1857-59 ; Alfred Lambert, 1859-60 ; 
P. LeB. Stickney, 1860-62 ; E. G. Pierce, 1862 ; Cyrus Bell, 1863- 
m ; David P. Smith, 1866-67 ; William G. Breck, 1867-69 ; A. S. 
McClean, 1869-71 ; V. L. Owen, 1871-72 ; Thomas L. Chapman, 
1872-74: W. J. Swain, 1874-76; David Clark. 1876-77: H. G. 
Stickney, 1877-78 : Sanford LaAvton, 1878-80 ; Harlow Gamwell, 
1880-82: S. W. Bowles. 1882-84: George S. Stebbins, 1884-85; 
A. F. Keed, 1885-86: L. F. Humeston, 1886-87: Theodore F. 
Breck, 1887-89 ; S. D. Brooks, 1889-90 : Frederick W. Chapin, 
1890-92; G. AV. Davis. 1892-93; George C. McClean. 1893-94; 
Wallace H. Deane. 1894-95 ; E. E. Maryott. 1895-96 : George E. 
Fuller, 1896-97 ; J. C. Hubbard, 1897-98 : Daniel E. Keefe, 1898- 
99; William Holbrook, 1899-1900; Lorenzo Gibbs, 1900-1901; 
Lawton S. Brooks, 1901 — . 

Vice-Presidents— William Bridgman, 1840-41 : T. B. Bridg- 
man, 1848-49 ; Thaddeus K. DeWolf, 1857-58 ; Thomas L. Chap- 
man, 1858-59 ; P. LeB. Stickney, 1859-60 ; D. P. Smith, 1860-61 ; 
Cyrus Bell, 1862-63 ; Alfred Lambert, 1864-66 ; George G. Tucker, 
1866-67; A. S. McLean. 1867-69: William J. Swain. 1869-70; V. 
L. Owen, 1870-71; Thomas L. Chapman. 1871-72: A. R. Rice, 
1872-74; H. G. Stickney, 1874-76; George S. Stebbins. 1876-77; 
G. W. Davis. 1877-78 ; Harlow Gamwell. 1878-80 : S. AV. Bowles, 
1880-82 ; George S. Stebbins. 1882-84 ; A. F. Reed, 1884-85 ; Theo- 
dore F. Breck. 1885-86; G. C. McClean. 1886-87 ; J. J. O'Connor, 
1887-89 : Frederick W. Chapin. 1889-90 ; G. W. Davis. 1890-92 ; 
George E. Fuller, 1892-93 ; W. H. Deane, 1893-94 ; E. E. Maryott, 
1894-95 ; George E. Fuller, 1895-96 ; William Holbrook, 1896-97 ; 
Daniel E. Keefe. 1897-98; L. J. Gibbs, 1898-1900; Lawton S. 
Brooks. 1900-01 ; Stephen AndrcAv INIahoney, 1901 — . 

Secretaries and Treasurers— Sohn Appleton, 1840-42: Will- 
iam A. Davis, 1842-45 : J. G. Holland. 1845-47 : Thomas L. Chap- 
man, 1847-49 ; Alfred Lambert, 1849-54 ; AVilliam G. Breck. 1854- 
56 ; George A. Otis, 1856-61 : A. S. McClean, 1861-63 ; William G. 
Breck, 1863-64; H. G. Stickney. 1864-66; A. R. Rice. 1866-69; 
George F. Jelly. 1869 : Charles P. Kemp. 1869-71 ; George S. Steb- 
bins, 1872-76; Frederick W. Chapin, 1876-80: George C. Mc- 
Clean, 1880-85 :G. L. Woods, 1885-89; J. T. Herrick. 1889-93: 

{ 361 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Everett A. Bates, 1893-94; A. J. Dunne, 1894-95; C. H. Calkins, 
1895-96 ; AYalter R. AVeiser, 1896-97 ; H. ^\. VanAllen, 1897-99 ; 
Frederick B. Sweet, 1899-1901; Harry C. Martin, 1901—. 

The following chronological list shows the names of members, 
of the society with the year of admission and place of residence : 

1840— Joseph Henshaw Flint, William Bridgman, George 
Hooker, Aaron King, Bela B, Jones, Reuben Champion, John 
Appleton, Levi W. Humphreys, charter members. 

1841— James H. Gray, Springfield; Thaddeus K. DeWolf, 
Chester; W. B. Alden, Ludlow; Jehiel Abbot, Westfield; Silas 
Wright, Blandford; John Smith, AVales; Marcus Shearer, 
Palmer; Aaron Shaw, Wales; George Seymour, Springfield; 
Jesse W. Rice, Wilbraham; Asa Lincoln, Brimfield; Ebenezer 
Knight, Brimfield ; James M. Smith, Springfield. 

1842— Amasa Davis, Palmer; Artemus Bell, Feeding Hills;. 
Alvin Smith, Monson. 

1843 — Samuel Doolittle Brooks, Springfield. 

1844— Benjamin H. Ellis, Springfield ; Cyrus Bell, Feeding 
Hills ; T. H. Stewart, Springfield. 

1845— John R. Wilbur, Chicopee Falls; Henry Robert 
Vaille, Springfield. 

1846— G. W. Denison, Chicopee; Thomas Luce Chapman,. 
Longmeadow ; H. Champlin, West Springfield ; William W. Bill- 
ings, Springfield. 

1847— Nathan Adams, Springfield; Pierre LeBreton Stick- 
ney, Springfield. 

1S52-W. 0. Bell, Westfield. 

1854— William Gilman Breck, C. C. Chaffee, David Paige 
Smith, all of Springfield ; William George Smith, Chicopee ; E. G. 
Pierce, Holyoke ; AVilliam Holbrook, Palmer. 

1855— R. G. English, Springfield; A. S. McClean, Spring- 
field; George Grenville Tucker, Westfield; G. A. Otis, U. S. navy. 

1857— James ^Milton Foster, Springfield. 

1858— J. T. Skinner, Springfield ; L. E. Marsh, Wales. 

1860— L. E. White, Springfield. 

1862— Marshall Calkins, Varillas Linus Owen, H. H. War- 
ner, all of Springfield. 

( 3G2 ) 



THE MEDICAL FIWFESSION 

1863 — Stephen Wallace Bowles, Springfield. 

1864— Horatio Gates Stiekney, Springfield. 

1866 — G. T. Ballard, Hampden; Theodore Frelinghuysen 
Breek, Springfield; C. F. Coleman, Springfield; Harlow Gamwell, 
"W'estfield ; AYilliam Wallace Gardner, Springfield; Charles P. 
Kemp, Springfield ; Albert Raymond Rice, Springfield ; Joseph 
William Rockwell, Southwick ; W. J. Sawin, Chicopee Falls ; 
James Henry Waterman, AVestfield. 

1867-E. C. Clark, Westfield ; Edgar Leroy Draper, Hol- 
yoke ; James John "Connor, Holyoke ; Charles F. Starkweather, 
Westfield ; George Stanford Stebbins, Springfield. 

1869— William Ahern, David Clark, both of Springfield. 

1870 — John Hooker, Springfield ; James Rajinond Brown, 
Springfield ; George Washington Davis, Holyoke. 

1874— Lawton Stiekney Brooks, Sanford Lawton, jr., 
Stephen Franklin Pomeroy, all of Springfield ; Andrew Fair- 
field Reed, Holyoke. 

1875— Frederick AYilcox Chapin, George Chester McLean, of 
Springfield ; Francis Fullam Parker, Chicopee. 

1876— AValter Jenks Norfolk, Westfield. 

1877— Charles Wesley Bowen, Westfield; Wallace Harlow 
Deane, Springfield. 

1878— H. U. Flagg, INIitteneague. 

1879— James Wilson Hanniim, Lndlo^v; Charles Parker 
Hooker, Springfield; Angelo Orin Squier, Springfield; Edwin 
Darius Hutchinson, AA^estfield. 

1880— George Dresser, Chicopee; Frederick AVarren Ellis, 
Monson ; George Ephraim Fuller, Monson ; William Holbrook, 
Palmer ; William Michael Edward Mellen, Chicopee ; M. M. Met- 
vier, Holyoke. 

1881- Josiah Clark Hubbard, Holyoke. 

1882— Judson Worthington Hastings, Feeding Hills. 

1883— John S. Bagg, Springfield; Edgar Clarence Collins, 
Springfield ; Frank Holyoke, Holyoke : Alfred C. Downing, 
Palmer; Locero Jackson Gibbs, Chicopee Falls; Alexander 
Spear McLean, Springfield. 

1884— Daniel Francis Donaghue, Holyoke; Walter Anson 
Smith, Springfield. 

( 3G3 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

1885— Erastiis Edgar Maryott, John Morgan, James E. 
Marsh, Seraph Frisseil, Walter Henry Chapin, Joseph Thomas 
Herrick, all of Springfield. 

1886— William Henry Andrews, Ira Clark Hill, Daniel Ed- 
ward Keefe, William Henry Pomeroy, all of Springfield ; Payson 
Jonathan Flagg, Mitteneague. 

1887— Edwin Boardman Adams, Phebe Ann Sprague, Sarah 
Mann Wilbnr. Edward Hunt Guild, all of Springfield; Joseph 
11. Palardy. Holyoke : Julia Maria Patten, Holyoke; W. H. Dean, 
Blandford ; Thomas Henry Tracy, Westfield. 

1888 — x\lexander John Dunne, Catherine Maloney Kennedy, 
of Springfield; Stephen Andrew Mahoney, Ella Maxfield Davis, 
both of Holyoke; Owen Copp, Monson. 

1889— Luther Halsey (Julick, Ralph Holland Seelye, Everett 
Alanson Bates, all of Springfield. 

1890— Willard Crafts Crocker, Philip Kilroy. of Springfield; 
Lauriston ^1. Berry, Chicopee Palls. 

1891 — Delia Lucretia Chapin, Edward Olin Robinson, 
Springfield. 

1892— Carl Addison Allen, Holyoke; Robert Parker Marr 
Ames, Springfield ; Charles AVilliam Jackson, IMonson ; Otis 
Hiland Kelsey, Springfield; Joseph Thomas Pero, Indian 
Orchard; Robert Valentine Sawin, Brimfield; Edward Howran 
Tierney, Holyoke; Harvey W^ard Van Allen, Springfield; Fred- 
erick A. Ward, Willimansett. 

1893— Warren Perkins Blake, Springfield; William Howard 
Bliss, Three Rivers ; William Wallace Broga, Springfield ; George 
Henry Clark, Holyoke; Herbert Clark Emerson, Springfield; 
Erskine Erasiims Hamilton, Springfield; Robert Joseph Mans- 
field, Springfield; Howard Eugene Wilson, Chester; William 
Norwood Suter, Springfield ; George Lyman Taylor, Holyoke. 

1894— William Chester Billings, Charles Henry Bowen, Dan- 
iel Joseph Brown, Cheney Hosmer Calkins, William James Chis- 
holm, Chai-les Francis Joseph Kennedy, Belle Joanne Piatt 
White, Waltei- Rupert Weiser, George Dake Weston, all of 
Springfield. 

1895 — George Washington Chamberlain, Springfield ; Joseph 
M. Collin. Chicopee Falls; Arthur Llewellyn Damon, Wilbraham : 

( 364 ) 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 

Charles John Downey, ^litteneague ; Ernest A. Gates, Spring- 
field; Frederick Eugene Hopkins, Springfield; Angenette Fowler 
Noble, Westfield ; Frederick Benoni Sweet, Springfield ; Horace 
Green Webber, AVilbrahani. 

1896— Dudley Carleton, Springfield; Edward B. Hodskins, 
Springfield ; James William Holland, Westfield ; James S. Mc- 
Laughlin, Westfield; James VanWagner Boyd, Springfield. 

1897— Orlando K. Blair, Springfield: Jesse L. Bliss, Hol- 
yoke; Ralph Carleton, Springfield; George Healy Davis, Spring- 
field; Stephen Joseph Dunn, Springfield; Kiehard G. Eaton, 
Holyoke ; Clarence E. Hewitt, Springfield ; Vincent Joseph 
Irwin, Springfield ; AVilliam Chase Leary, Springfield, John 
Joseph McCabe, Holyoke; Henry Alvin Merchant, Monson; 
Louis A. Prefontaine, Springfield; Abram Case Williams, 
Springfield : George L. Woods, Springfield. 

1898— Jeremiah C. Anthony, Springfield: Edward W. 
Brown, Springfield; William H. Davis, Holyoke; George Herbert 
Jones, Westfield: Edward Joseph Mahoney, Holyoke; Homer T. 
Porter, Blandford ; Sidney R. Marvin, Springfield; John James 
O'Connor, Holyoke; Joseph Henry Potts, Holyoke; Ellsworth F. 
Rovss, Wales; Jacob Philip Schneider, Palmer; Arthur B. Weth- 
erell, Holyoke: John Nicholas Coghlan, Holyoke; Flora E. Frost, 
Springfield. 

1899— Frank Henry Haskins, Charles Francis Lynch, An- 
thony Leopold Brown, Harry C. Martin, Simeon James Russell, 
Robert Hamilton McNair, Mortimer Joseph Sfoddard, Charles R. 
Chapman, George Hardy Finch, all of Springfield. 

1900-Frank Rufus Searles, Springfield. 

1901 — Sanuiel D. Miller, Three Rivers; Joseph N. Boyer, 
Springfield; Frederick S. Ward, Springfield. 

Having in a preceding part of this chapter devoted some 
attention to reminiscences of the older members of the profession 
in the county, who were and others who were not united with the 
state society, it is proposed in closing this article to make some 
special allusion to the more prominent members of the district 
society whose life work is closed. 

Thaddeus K. DeWolf, of Chester, was for many years re- 
garded as one of the leading medical practitioners in the county, 

( 365 ) 




Dr. Thaddeus K. De Wolf 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 

and although a country doctor he nevertheless was frequently 
called into counsel with the more widely known physicians of 
the municipalities, and by them was held in high esteen. Dr. 
DeWolf was born INIay 18, 1801, studied medicine in Northern 
New York and received his degree at the Castleton Medical col- 
lege. He began his career in Connecticut, and in 1832 located at 
Chester Centre, where he soon built up an extensive practice. 
He was identified with several medical organizations and socie- 
ties, and in his own town served as member of the school commit- 
tee, justice of the peace, and also was elected to the lower house 
of the general court. He died in 1890, aged 89 years, then being 
the senior member of the district society. His son, Oscar C. 
DeWolf, also entered the profession and now is in practice in 
London, England. His daughter, Sarah, married the late Dr. 
Harlow Gamwell, of Westfield. 

James IMorven Smith, for twelve years the acknowledged 
head of the medical profession in Hampden county and one of 
the most distinguished physicians of his time in New England, 
was born in Hanover, N. H., in 1806, the son of Dr. Nathan 
Smith, who was an eminent physician and a medical lecturer and 
author of wide repute. James M. Smith graduated at Yale, 
located in Westfield in 1830, practiced in that town until 1838, 
when he removed to Baltimore, Md. In 1841 he came to Spring- 
field and engaged in professional work until the time of his death 
in a railway disaster at Norwalk, Conn., in 1853. He is well 
remembered by many of our older citizens, and recollections of 
his professional life are treasured memories \nth them. He, in 
association with Keuben A. Chapman and AYilliam B. Calhoun, 
conceived the idea of establishing a medical school in Springfield, 
to which reference is made in a preceding paragraph. 

Henry R. Vaille was a native of Vermont, born in Marlboro 
in 1809. He was graduated at Williams college in 1835, and 
soon afterward became the first (and the last) principal of the 
town school in School street in Springfield, which institution was 
in operation only a short time. He then turned his attention to 
medicine and pursued a course of reading with Dr. Joshua Frost, 
later attended the Pittsfield Medical institute, and finally fin- 

( 367 ) 




Henry R. Vaille, M. D. 



THE MEDICAL FIWFESSWN 

islied his medical education in Paris. He began practice in 
Longnieadow, but upon the death of his old preceptor he suc- 
ceeded to the practice of the latter in Springtield. His profes- 
sional life was abundantly successful and in his prime his prac- 
tice was far greater than that of any other physician in the city. 
At one time during the war of 1861-5 he was in the service of the 
Christian connnission. and in the fall of 1863 he spent some time 
in the hospitals at Middletown, Md., after the l)attles of South 
Mountain and Antietam. Dr. Vaille died July 15, 1885. He is 
remembered as a popular and skillful physician, thorough in 
every professional work, and having an especial regard for the 
interests and comfort of all with whom he was brought into asso- 
ciation. 

Pierre LeBreton Stickney, whose professional life in this 
county was spent in the towns of West Springfield, Chicopee and 
Springfield, was born in Newburyport, May 10, 1814, the son of 
Capt. David and Elizabeth LeBreton Stickney. He prepared 
for college in Bradford and Phillips Andover academies and 
graduated at Dartmouth in 1839. His medical education was 
acquired in Jefferson Medical college (Phila.), where he received 
his degree in 1842. He settled in West Springfield in 1845 and 
removed thence to Indiana in 1851. Three years later he re- 
turned east and located in Chicopee, where he pi-acticed with 
unvarying success until 1870, when he came to Springfield, his 
subsequent home. He died November 5, 1887, having spent 
nearly forty years of his active professional life in this vicinity. 
He was held in especial regard by the profession, to whom his 
worth was fully known. On the occasion of his death the dis- 
trict medical society expressed its estimate of him as "one who 
ever maintained the honor and worked for the interests of legiti- 
mate medicine in opposition to every form of empiricism." 

John Hooker, during his active life a prominent figure in 
professional, political and social circles in Springfield, was a 
native of Charlton, Mass., born January 30, 1817. His father 
was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and his mother, Polly Wins- 
loAV, was a direct descendant of Kenelmn AVinslow, a Puritan 
who came to America in the Mayflower in 1620. At the age of 

24-1 ( 369 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

sixteen years John began to learn the trade of his father, but 
having soon afterward determined to fit himself for the practice 
of medicine, he became a student under Dr. Lamb, of Charlton. 
He took his degree from the Berkshire INIedical school in Pitts- 
field. At the time of the "gold fever" in California he went 
from Worcester to New York with the intention to sail for the 
Pacific slope, and to that end procured a passage ticket. How- 
ever, he suddenly changed his mind and having disposed of his 
ticket at a good premium he came to Springfield and opened an 
office where now stands the city hall; and when that property 
was sold to the city he removed to Elm street where he practiced 
for ten years, until he secured the Lawton property on Maple 
street, where he lived for several years. Later on he lived at No. 
183 State street and remained there until his death, July 11, 
1892, aged 75 years. In every sense Dr. Hooker was a self-made 
man, having educated himself and worked out his own career 
without other aid than his own determination and perseverance. 
As a physician he was held in high esteem throughout the city, 
and as a public-spirited citizen he frequently was nominated for 
office. In 1870 he was a member of the board of aldermen and in 
1875 was a city physician. Previous to 1870 he was a democrat, 
but afterward he was allied to the republican party. During the 
later years of his life he relinquished much of his practice to his 
son, Charles P. Hooker, and gave himself to the rest and social 
enjoyment of the associations of the Winthrop club. 

William Gilman Breck, whose splendid, striking personality 
for so many years made him an attractive figure in Springfield 
social circles, and who also enjoyed the reputation of being one 
of the leading physicians and surgeons in the entire Connecticut 
valley region, was born in Franklin county, Vermont, in Novem- 
ber, 1818. and died in Chieopee while on a professional visit to 
Vicar-General Healy, on January 22, 1889. When quite young 
he removed with his parents to Ohio, and acquired his elementary 
education in the famous school at Oberlin, and also in Harvard 
university, where he was graduated. He attended medical lec- 
tures in New York city and in 1844 began his professional career 
in New Orleans. Two years later he came to Springfield, and 

( 370 ) 



THE MEDICAL PR0EES8I0N 

for the next forty-three years was au active factor in medical and 
business circles. For a time he practiced as senior partner in 
the firm of Breck & Gray. Dnring the war of 1861-65 he was 
sent to the front by Governor Andrew as consulting surgeon, 
and was present at several memorable battles. His knowledge of 
medicine was thorough and as a surgeon his skill was known fai 
beyond the limits of his county. For thirty years he was surgeon 
for the Boston & Albany and the New York, New^ Haven & Hart- 
ford railroad companies. But outside of his professional life 
Dr. Breck was deeply interested in the growth and prosperity of 
Springfield and was thoroughly loyal to its institutions, taking 
an especial interest in the work of the city hospital. He also was 
one of the pioneers in the development of Round Hill, and built 
the first residence in that now desirable locality. An idea of the 
high estimate in which Dr. Breck was held by the people of 
Springfield is furnished by the following extract from the resolu- 
tions adopted by the district medical society at the next meeting 
after his death: ''Whereas, his good counsel and especially his 
leading surgical ability entitle him to a large and a lasting place 
in our memory, be it resolved by the members of the Hampden 
district medical society, that we will endeavor to fill this vacancy 
in our ranks by the perseverance and devotion to the profession 
manifested by our deceased brother." 

Thomas Luce Chapman, who was virtually retired from 
active professional Avork when he removed from Longmeadow to 
Springfield to live with his father-in-law, the late Marvin Cha- 
pin, was born in Pittsfield in 1817, and acquired his early medi- 
cal education in the Berkshire Medical institute. Through his 
early association with Dr. Brooks he was led to enter the pro- 
fession, and it was a fortunate choice, for he became in every 
respect a competent and honorable physician, and one who en- 
joyed a large practice and wide social acquaintance. He settled 
in Longmeadow in 1842 and for the next thirty and more years 
(except a short time spent in California for the benefit of his 
health) devoted his energies to professional work and to the 
several other enterprises with which he was identified. He was 
secretary and treasurer of the district medical society in 1847-49, 

( 371 ) 



OCR COUMY AXD ITS PEOPLE 

vice-president in 1871-72, and president in 1872-74. Dr. Chap- 
man is remembered as a large-hearted and public-spirited citizen, 
especially kind to the poor, and interested in all worth}' charities. 
The Springfield Home for Aged Women was founded chiefly 
through his endeavors. Politically he was a republican and was 
in the state senate in 1864. Dr. Chapman died August 20, 1889, 
and at the next succeeding meeting of the district medical society 
one of the resolutions then adopted declared: "While we sub- 
missively bow to the Supreme Will, we recognize the loss of one 
who unselfishly gave his life to the amelioration of human suffer- 
ings, and whose gentle virtues and manly qualities will always 
live in our remembrance. ' ' 

Nathan Adams was for many years a familiar figure in med- 
ical circles in Springfield, although the complete success of his 
career as a physician was somewhat marred by the effects of an 
unfortunate accident which impaired his general health. Tie 
was born May 6, 1813, and was graduated from the medical de- 
partment of Yale in 1836. In 1844, after six years of hospital 
practice in New York, he settled in Springfield, and soon attained 
a prominent standing in the ranks of the pi-ofession. In 1856 he 
was elected to the common council. In 1865 an accident com- 
pelled him to give up practice temporarily, after which he trav- 
elled extensively and lived elsewhere than in Spi-ingfield. In 
1876 he returned to the city and ten years later bought the manor 
house and property in Ingersoll's grove. Dr. Adams died Octo- 
ber 2, 1888, while temporarily residing with his daughter in Mai'- 
blehead. 

Harlow Camwell, late of Wostfield. was boi'u in Washington, 
Mass., in 1834, the son of INIartin ( iamwell. a patriot of the )'evo- 
lution. Harlow acquired his early medical education in the 
Berkshire Medical college, where he graduated in 1858, and 
began his professional cai-oer in Huntington in 1859. In 1861 
he was appointed assistant sui'geon of the 2d Mass. cavalry, serv- 
ing in that capacity fourteen months, when he was made surgeon 
of the 5th cavalry. Just before the close of the war ill-health 
compelled him to resign his conunission, upon which he returned 
to Huntington, and thence removed to Westfield in 1873. Here 

( 372 ) 



TEE MEDICAL FBOFESSION 

he afterward lived and died, his professional life having been a 
complete success, while socially he enjoyed the respect and es- 
teem of the entire townspeople. His practice was varied and 
extensive, and in whatever capacity he was called he acquitted 
himself with honor. Dr. Gamwell died August 11, 1898. He 
was twice married, his second wife being a daughter of Dr. Thad- 
deus K. DeAVolf. 

Varillas L. Owen, for many years a physician of excellent 
standing in Springfield, was born in 1825, and died in 1897. He 
was educated in old Chester academy and the medical depart- 
ment of Harvard, graduating at the latter in 1852. He came 
into medical practice well equipped for hard work. On the occa- 
sion of his death the resolutions adopted by the members of the 
district medical society said of Dr. Owen: "That the society of 
which he was for many years a member, actively and usefully, 
hereby expresses its deep sense of the loss in him of a most agree- 
able companion and faithful co-worker." 

David Paige Smith, son of Dr. James Morven Smith, was 
born in Westfield, October 1, 1830, graduated at Yale college in 
1851, and at Jefferson Medical college in 1853. With a splendid 
mental equipment and the fortunate prestige of being the son of 
one of the most distinguished physicians which the county ever 
had knowu, the young doctor came into practice in the same year 
in which his father was killed by accident ; and much of the prac- 
tice to which he succeeded was retained by him until his depart- 
ure for Europe in 1860 to still further educate himself in the 
University at Edinburgh, Scotland. However, at the end of a 
single year he returned to Springfield and entered the service as 
• surgeon of the 18th Mass. infantry, only to be advanced to the 
rank of brigade surgeon, and later to medical director of the 
division. Keturning to Springfield he engaged in active practice 
until 1872, when he made another extended European tour, and 
on his return in 1873 he was made professor of theory and prac- 
tice in Yale medical department. In 1877 he was transferred to 
the chair of surgery, and in 1878, in addition to his other duties, 
he was appointed lecturer on medical jurisprudence. During 
bis active professional life Dr. Smith was vice-president of the 

( 373 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Massachusetts Medical society, post surgeon of the U. S. armory 
at Springfield, president of the board of medical examiners for 
pensions, and medical director of the Massachusetts Mutual Life 
Insurance company. He died December 27, 1880, and on the 
following day the district medical society in special meeting, 
resolved ' ' That we desire as individuals and as a society to place 
on record our appreciation of the life and character of our dead 
brother; that we call to mind with gratitude his distinguished 
services to the profession and community, his labors as a member 
and officer of our association, and our regret at his sudden and 
untimely death." 

James Henry Waterman, at the time of his death medical ex- 
aminer and town physician of Westfield, and one of the leading 
men of his profession in western Hampden county, was born in 
Ware in 1837 and came to practice in Westfield in 1860. fresh 
from his graduation from the medical department of the Univer- 
sity of Buffalo. In November, 1862, he was appointed surgeon 
of the 46th Mass. Inf., and served in that capacity about two 
years. In addition to his large medical practice Dr. Waterman 
for five years was engaged in the manufacture of cigars, but at 
the end of that time he gave up all interests outside of profes- 
sional work. He died November 23, 1887. The estimation in 
which he was held by his professional associates is well shown by 
the following extracts from the resolutions of the medical society 
after his death: "Resolved, that in the decease of our brother 
and associate the society loses one of its most efficient, active and 
popular members in the vigor of his manhood and in the acme of 
his professional reputation; one whose duties were performed 
with alacrity and zeal, sacrificing health and perhaps life for the 
good of others, and one whose relations to the profession have 
been conducive to its elevation and improvement." 

George AVashington Davis, of Holyoke, president of the dis- 
trict medical society in 1892-93, was born in Northfield, Vermont, 
March 26, 1847, and died September 4, 1894. He unquestionably 
was one of the most thoroughly educated physicians in that city, 
and one whose life was given to study as well as to practice. He 
first read medicine in his native town, and in 1866 attended lec- 

( 374 ) 



THE MEDICAL PI^OFESSION 

tures at the Pittsfield Medical school, later at the University of 
Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and still later at Burlington, Vermont, 
where he was graduated in 1868, He practiced first in Crafts- 
bury, Vt., and came to Holyoke in 1871. In that city he achieved 
his greatest success. He took a post-graduate course in New 
York in 1876, and another in Philadelphia in 1882. In 1884 he 
studied in the great universities of Germany and France. 

Stephen Wallace Bowles was born in Machias, Maine, in 
1835, graduated at Williams college in 1856, and acquired his 
early medical education in the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons of New York, graduating in 1859. During the war of 
1861-65, he was for a time on the hospital staff in the field and 
afterward served in the general hospital at Brattleboro, his whole 
service covering a period of three and one-half years. He also 
practiced two years in Brattleboro, a like time in Yonkers, N. Y., 
and came to Springfield in 1872. Dr. Bowles is remembered as 
a physician of excellent ability and as a citizen of upright char- 
acter. He died February 13, 1895. 

James John O'Connor, late of Holyoke, and one of the 
brightest young lights of the profession in that city previous to 
his death, was born in Springfield, October 20, 1864, and died 
December 14, 1898. He was educated in the city schools and 
prepared for college under private instruction. In 1884 he en- 
tered the medical department of Harvard, and graduated in 
1888. He then located in Holyoke and rapidly gained popular- 
ity by his professional work. He practiced ten years and 
achieved success, but death cut off his promising career. 

AYilliam J. Sawin was a respected physician of Chicopee 
Falls at the time of his death, December 3, 1877. On that occa- 
sion the medical society expressed its feelings in these words: 
"Resolved, that we, in common with those who are deprived of 
his professional services, deeply regret his loss and offer to his 
grief-stricken family our sincere condolence in their sudden 
affliction," etc. 

H. G. Stickney, president of the society in 1877-78, for many 
years a respected physician of this locality, died December 5, 
1878, upon which the society resolved as follows: "That in the 

( 375 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

sudden death of H. G. Stickney the medical profession has sus- 
tained tlie loss of an ardent worker, a thoroug'h practitioner, and 
a true friend to the advancement of medical science ; resolved, 
that by the decease of Dr. Stickney the community has been de- 
prived of an intelligent and public-spirited citizen, and society 
of a kind-hearted man." 

Alvin Smith, of Monson. Sanford Lawton, of Springtield, 
and Cyrus Bell, of Feeding Hills, died in 1882. Each was a well 
known, highly respected and competent physician in the com- 
munity in which he lived and practiced. On September 12 of 
that year, at a meeting of the society this serious inroad on its 
membership was discussed and the following resolutions were 
adopted as expressing the feelings of the members present: "Re- 
solved, that this society, fully appreciating its loss in the death 
of these members, would deeply impress upon the memory its 
testimony to their moral and professional worth. As officers and 
members they were efficient and faithful in their duties and al- 
ways active in promoting and sustaining its best interests. Hon- 
orable and upright in their intercourse with its fellows, they 
commanded and received their confidence and friendship. As 
practitioners in their professional calling each was the devoted 
physician, the self-sacrificing, sympathetic and warm-hearted 
friend. . . In their loss this society most freely accords its 
sympathy and mingles its sorrow with their friends and the com- 
munities among which they lived and labored." 

In September. 1887, the society adopted resolutions appro- 
priate to the occasion on the death of its valued young member, 
Dr. J. L. Bagg, a native of West Springtield and a descendant of 
one of its pioneer families. 

W. J. Tracy died October 4, 1888, and in commenting on his 
professional life the society's resolution says: "While we sin- 
cerely deplore the death of our brother and associate, and that 
he was permitted to cross to the other side with his life work so 
incomplete, yet we rejoice that in so brief a time he was by his 
worth and industry enabled to attain a distinguished position in 
his chosen profession and in the community in which he lived." 

( 376 ) 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 

U. H. Flagg and Dr. Bowles died, the former in November, 
1894:. and the latter in February. 1895. At a meeting held April 
16, 1895. the resolution adopted by the society says : "Resolved, 
that we highly appreciate the valuable services which they ten- 
dered to this society and the medical profession, and that we 
hereby express our sympathy for their relatives and families in 
their severe bereavement." 

Henry Charles Bowen died September 3, 1898, and the res- 
olution adopted at the next meeting expresses deep regret at the 
loss of a valuable fellow member, "who died of typhoid fever in 
C*uba while serving his country as surgeon of the 2d Mass. militia 
in the Spanish Avar." 

Erskine Erasmus Hamilton, who died in January, 1901, was 
born in 1866, graduated at the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons in 1892. and ^vas associated with medical practice in 
Springfield from that time until the latter part of 1900. 

Harry A. Merchant, of Monson, likewise was taken away by 
the hand of the destroyer during the year 1901, and thereby was 
extinguished the life of one who gave promise of a rapid rise in 
the ranks of the profession. Dr. Merchant was a son-in-law of 
Dr. George E. Fuller of Monson. 

THE EASTERN HAMPDEN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 

During the latter part of 1879 three well known physicians 
of the eastern towns of Hampden county— Dr. George E. Puller 
of Monson, Dr. George T. Ballard of Hampden, and Dr. W. H. 
Stowe of Palmer— were accustomed to meet together about once 
a month at the house of one of them and there discuss any events 
of more than usual importance in their professional work which 
had taken place during the preceding month ; and to give added 
enjoyment to these occasions, the wives of these physicians would 
accompany them, and while the discussions wei-e being held the 
ladies would prepare a supper for the social enjoyment of all 
who were present. 

These little informal assemblages were found so agreeable 
and beneficial to the participants that on February 6, 1880, it 
was resolved to eft'ect a permanent organization under the name 

( 377 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

of the "Doctors' Club of Eastern Hampden," to adopt a consti- 
tion and by-laws and elect officers for the ensuing year. These 
officers were as follows : Dr. George E. Fuller, president ; Dr. 
George T. Ballard, vice-president; Dr. W. H. Stowe, secretary 
and treasurer; Drs. George E. Fuller, George T. Ballard, W. H. 
Stowe, A. 0. Squier and J. AV. Hannum, directors. 

Thus launched into existence with an original membership 
of five physicians, the Doctors' Club began its history with every 
promise of future usefulness but without an intention on the 
part of its founders to extend to jurisdictions beyond the limits 
of a few of the eastern towns of the county. However, the good 
results which followed the early meetings soon spread their influ- 
ence throughout the profession, and one addition after another 
gradually extended the membership west to the Connecticut and 
also into the counties adjoining Hampden. 

This somewhat remarkable outspreading from a little in- 
formal social trio of medical men to a formal organization with 
large and constantly increasing membership, necessitated a 
change in the regulations, therefore, at a meeting held February 
10, 1881, "censors" replaced "directors," and on March 10 of 
the same year the constitution was amended by changing the 
name from "Doctors' Club of Eastern Hampden" to "The East- 
ern Hampden Medical Association." Still, the original social 
character of the organization has been preserved even to the 
present day and the "banquet" is a feature of the regular meet- 
ings. 

During the period of its history more than fifty practicing 
physicians have become members and affixed their names to the 
constitution of the club and association. In the order of senior- 
ity of membership the names are as follows: Drs. George E. 
Fuller, jNlonson; Geo. T. Ballard, Hampden; W. H. Stowe, 
Palmer ; James W. Hannum, Ludlow ; A. 0. Squier, North Wil- 
braham ; A. C. Desautels, Indian Orchard ; Noyes Barstow, In- 
dian Orchard; J. M. Foster, Wilbraham; Horace G. AVebber, 
AA'ales (now Wilbraham) : George L. Woods, Springfield; S. F. 
Smith, Indian Orchard: D. H. Nutting, Chicopee Falls: A. C. 
Downing, Palmer ; C. B. Newton, Stafford Springs, Conn. ; F. W. 

( 378 ) 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 

Ellis, Monson; L. J. Gibbs, Chicopee Falls; Geo. P. Bailey, 
Bondsville; J. B. Hyland, Palmer; C. W. Jackson, Monson; R. 
V. Sawin, Brimfield ; W. H. Bliss, North Wilbraham ; L. M. 
Berry, Chicopee Falls; J. P. Schneider, Palmer; H. B. Perry, 
Amherst; J. T. Pero, Indian Orchard; W. N. Klemmer, Spring- 
field; Leslie H. Hendee, Palmer; George P. Bell, Three Rivers; 
J. M. Fay, Northampton ; George AV. Rawson, Amherst ; Walter 

A. Smith, Springfield; Joab Stowell, North Amherst; Walter R. 
Weiser, Springfield; George D. AVeston, Springfield; R. E. Dick- 
son, Granby; C. F. Branch, Amherst; P. H. Larose, Indian 
Orchard ; H. T. Shores, Northampton ; Chas. A. Byrne, Hatfield ; 
Harry A. Merchant, Monson ; F. A. H. Robinson, Hinsdale ; P. J. 
C. Flagg, Mittineagne; V. J. Irwin, Springfield; Irving R. 
Calkins, Springfield ; E. H. Guild, Springfield ; Louis A. Prefon- 
taine, Springfield ; James E. Marsh, Springfield ; C. H. Calkins, 
Springfield; H. C. Martin, Longmeadow; E. F. Ross, Wales; C. 
R. Chapman, Springfield. 

The succession of officers is as follows : 

Presidents: George E. Fuller, 1880-81 ; George T. Ballard, 
1882-83; W. H. Stowe, 1884; J. AV. Hannum, 1885; L. J. Gibbs, 
1886 ; G. L. Woods, 1887 ; A. 0. Squier, 1888 ; H. G. Webber, 
1889 ; C. W. Jackson, 1890 ; S. F. Smith, 1891 ; R. U. Sawin, 
1892 ; W. H. Bliss, 1893 ; George E. Fuller, 1894 ; George T. Bal- 
lard, 1895 ; L. M. Berry, 1896 ; H. B. Perry, 1897 ; L. H. Hendee, 
1898 ; AV. A. Smith, 1899 ; J. M. Fay, 1900 ; AValter R. Weiser, 
1901. 

Vice-Presidents: George T. Ballard, 1880-81 ; AA^ H. Stowe, 
1882-83 ; J. AV. Hannum, 1884 ; L. J. Gibbs, 1885 ; G. L. Woods, 
1886 ; A. C. Squier, 1887 ; Horace G. AA^ebber, 1888 ; C. W. Jack- 
son, 1889 ; AV. H. Bliss, 1890 ; R. V. Sawin, 1891 ; AV. H. Bliss, 
1892 ; F. W. Ellis, 1893 ; J. T. Pero, 1894 ; L. M. Berry, 1895-96 ; 
L. H. Hendee, 1897 ; W. A. Smith, 1898 ; G. L. AA^oods, 1899 ; 
AValter R. Weiser, 1900 ; G. AV. Rawson, 1901. 

Secretaries and Treasurers: AV. H. Stowe, 1880; J. W. 
Hannum, 1881-83 ; H. G. AA^ebber, 1884 ; G. L. AA^oods, 1885 ; J. 

B. Hyland, 1886 ; C. AA^. Jackson, 1887 ; R. V. Sawin, 1888 ; G. L. 
AVoods, 1889 ; J. W. Hannum, 1890 ; AV. H. Bliss, 1891 ; F. W. 

( 379 ) 



OUR COL'MY AM) IT^ PEOPLE 

EUis, 1892; J. T. Pero, 1893; J. W. Hammm, 1894; W, G. Web- 
ber, 1895; J. W. Hanniim, 1896; George W. Kawson, 1897-98; 
Harry A. Merchant, 1899 : I. R. Calkins, 1900 ; V. J. Irwin, 1901. 

THE SPRINGFIELD MEDICAL CLUB 

On December 13, 1892, a number of i)romineut physicians 
perfected the formal organization of the Springtield Medical 
club, the object of which, according to the declaration of its con- 
stitution is "the medical and social advancement of its mem- 
bers." Little formality accompanied the preliminary work of 
discussing the project. The need of such an association was 
appreciated in professional circles and in due season the club 
was brought into existence. It is a business organization— with 
a social side— and never has encumbered itself with numerous 
offices, nor biirdened its officers with a multitude of duties. 
Meetings are held semi-monthly with an annual mid-winter ban- 
quet—a brief season of total relaxation of professional work. 

The members of the club since its organization are as fol- 
lows : 

Frederick W. Chapin, Walter H. Chapin, Charles P. 
Hooker, George C. McClean, W^illiam H. Pomeroy, Ralph H. 
Seelye, W. N. Suter (rem. to Washington, D. C, June 1, 1897), 
Joseph T. Herrick, Everett A. Bates, David Clark, Philip Kilroy, 
Stephen ^Y. Bowles (d. Feb. 12, 1895), AV. W. Broga, Theodore 
P. Breck, Herbert C. Emerson, Henry C. Bowen (d. Santiago, 
Cuba, Sept. 3, 1898). Warren P. Blake, F. E. Hopkins, Ralph 
Carleton, Dudley Carleton, Frederick B. Sweet. 

The officers of the club have been as follows : 

Presidents: Charles P. Hooker, 1892-93; David Clark, 
1894; Theodore F. Breck, 1895-96; Frederick W. Chapin, 
1897-98; George C. McClean, 1899-1900; Walter H. Chapin, 
1901. 

Secretaries and Treasurers: Everett A. Bates, 1892-96; 
Herbert C. Emerson, 1897-1901. 



( 380 ) 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 

HOMOEOPATHY 

A learned writer has said: "All advancement comes 
through persecution, and 'no cross, no crown' is applicable to 
science as well as to religion." Christianity itself surged 
through blood and fire to attain its mighty j)Ower. So, too, the 
medical world has been subject to convulsion from the earliest 
ages. Homoeopathy sprung into existence something more than 
a century ago, discarded the settled rules of practice and as- 
serted its claims to the world. Its distinguishing character- 
istics, then as now, consist in the scientific employment of 
medicaments according to the principles denoted by its name, 
"similia similihus curontur," or, "like is cured by like." 

The principle first rendered into a practical science by 
Hahnemann, the founder of the homoeopathic school, dates far 
back of his time, and was even glanced at by Hippocrates; but 
it remained for Hahnemann to propound the startling dogma in 
1790, while engaged in translating Cullin's Materia Medica from 
English into German. The new school passed through many 
wonderful and prolonged tests, trials and opposition, and event- 
ually was legalized in Bohemia in 1821; America in 1825; Rus- 
sia in 1833 : Austria in 1837 : Prussia in 1843 : England in 1858 ; 
and to-day is a recognized power throughout the world. 

It is not the fault of homoeopathists that they and the asso- 
ciations to which they belong are known by a distinctive name. 
It is the fault of those who have refused to allow the views de- 
noted by that name to be advocated, tested, and freely practiced 
within the bounds of ordinary professional fellowship. Grant 
to homoeopathy the same liberty which is accorded to all other 
ways of thinking, however novel and unlike those ordinarily re- 
ceived, and the raison d'etre of homoeopathic institutions will 
have disappeared. 

Homoeopathic Medical Society of Western MassacJiusetts.— 
On April 25, 1877, the homoeopathic physicians of Western 
Massachusetts organized a society for mutual improvement, the 
charter members of which were as follows : Drs. J. M. Thomp- 
son of Greenfield; E. R. Morgan and Shelburn Fort of Shelburne 

( 381 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Falls ; D. T. Vining of Conway ; F. E. Bailey of AVilliamstown : 

A. Harvey of North Adams ; and Henry Tucker of Brattleboro. 
In August following the organization Dr. George W. Swazey and 
Dr. L. McFarland of Springfield were added to the membership, 
and since that year the work of the society has been such that 
its rolls now contain the names of fifty-eight active members. 

The society holds quarter-yearly meetings in Springfield, on 
which occasions all branches of medical science are discussed by 
the members; and the social side of these assemblages is not 
without substantial benefits in the interchange of courtesies and 
the extension of mutual fellowship and professional regard 
among the members. 

Among the members of the society past and present there 
are many physicians of prominence in the ranks of homoeopathy, 
and some there were w^ho are no longer living. We may recall 
such practitioners as George AY. Swazey, L. McFarland, Laura 
W. Copp, W. M. Decker, Andrew S. Oliver, George W. Bates, 
Harriet A. Loring, H. E. Russegue, all of Springfield; J. U. 
Woods of Holyoke : N. W. Rand of Monson ; J. K. Warren of 
Palmer; J. F. Hadley of Chicopee ; and S. Alvord of Chicopee 
Falls. 

The present members of the society, who are residents in 
Hampden county, are as follows: Drs. Plumb Brown, junior, 
John H. Carmichael, J. B. Comins, A. M. Gushing, J. ]\I. Gates, 
H. W. Green, R. F. Hovey, S. A. Lewis, Clarice J. Parsons, 
George Rhoads, H. E. Rice, 0. W. Roberts, Alice E. Rowe and 
Clara J. Sweet, of Springfield ; S. E. Fletcher, of Chicopee ; G. 

B. Maxwell, of Chicopee Falls ; W. F. Harding and A. T. Schoon- 
maker, of Westfield ; J. P. Rand, of Monson ; H. R. Sackett, G. H. 
Smith and Frank A. Woods, of Holyoke ; and G. H. Wilkins, of 
Palmer. 

Reminiscences.— Br. George AY. Swazey represented histor- 
ically and medically the homoeopathic practice in Hampden 
county during his professional life in Springfield. There may 
^ have been an earlier homoeopath here, but the practice only got 
character and success from him. He was a thoroughly honest 
and conscientious man, persevering, faithful, studious and 

( 382 ) 




George W. Swazey, M. D. 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

tlioughtful. He believed in what he was doing, aud there was 
not a grain of charlatanry in the way he did it. His life among 
ns was long, honorable and successful. He commanded public 
respect while living, he justly received its tributes, dead. 

He was born at Exeter, N. H., in 1812 ; and entered Bow- 
doin college with the class of '35, but removed to Dartmouth, and 
finally returned to Bowdoin to graduate in '37. He began prac- 
tice as an allopath, being first settled in Newburyport, but 
adopted the homoeopathic system as early as 1840 and continued 
in it ever afterward. He removed to Springfield in 1844. He 
stood high in his school of medicine, and received many honors 
from his professional associates. He was a member of the Mas- 
sachusetts Homoeopathic Medical society, and a member and one 
of the founders of the American Institute of Homoeopathy, and 
held the office of president and various other positions in both 
these societies. He was a contributor to the homoeopathic med- 
ical journals, and quite a number of his public addresses at the 
meetings of the state and national societies have been published 
and widely circulated. Among these may be mentioned his ad- 
dress on the "Scientific Basis of Homoeopathy," delivered before 
the Massachusetts Homoeopathic Medical society, and his address 
before the American Institute of Homoeopathy on "The Nature 
of Life, the Nature of Disease, and the Law of Cure." 

Dr. Swazey was fatally injured by falling from a dry-bridge 
at Deerfield, Sept. 8, 1877. 

Dr. H. A. Collins was born in South Hadley, Aug. 27, 1826. 
Prepared for college at Williston seminary, entering Yale in 
1847, graduating an M. D. in 1850. He practiced at Conway 
three years, and then removed to Springfield. While at Yale 
he became impressed by the better results obtained from homoeo- 
pathic treatment in cholera and during his practice at Conway 
convinced himself that the theory of Hahnemann was the more 
scientific ; and upon removing to Springfield he became a homeo- 
pathic physician. At that time Drs. Swazey and Graves were 
the practitioners of this school in the city. Dr. Graves subse- 
quently removed from Springfield, Avhile Dr. Swazey remained 
until his death in 1877. Dr. Collins was an unusuallj^ energetic 

( 384 ) 



THE MEDICAL I'BOFESSION 

man, ahvavs looking on the bright side of life. He Avas a man 
of genius, diagnosing diesases quickly by intuition, and held a 
select clientele to the time of his death in 1884. His recreation 
was with his horses, in his daily "rounds." He was a member 
of the ^Massachusetts Homoeopathic Medical society, and the 
American Institute of Homoeopathy. 

The history of homoeopathy in jNIonson may be said to have 
begun in the summer of 1871, when Dr. J. K. Warren, who had 
recently located in Palmer, left an "Order Slate" at the store 
of Geo. E. Grout, and began making daily calls to the village. 

Previous to that time very few families in the town had any 
practical knowledge of homoeopathy ; a few of the wealthy peo- 
ple had employed Dr. Geo. W. Swazey of Springfield, but only 
a few, and those at infrequent intervals. 

Dr. AVarren's advent to the town was greeted with ridicule, 
Avhich grew into active and bitter opposition as his practice in- 
creased ; but Dr. Warren was not a man easily frightened and 
though for a time the only graduate of the new school between 
Worcester and Springfield he held his ground and built a large 
and lucrative business. 

In this way Monson was supplied with homoeopathic treat- 
ment until Feb. 15, 1879, when Dr. N. W. Rand, a student and 
former associate of Dr. Warren, decided to strike out for himself 
and open an office. He rented rooms in a central location and 
had a good practice from the very first. 

The history of homoeopathy in Monson is so largely the his- 
tory of Dr. Rand that a review of the one without a recital of the 
other would be incomplete. Dr. Rand was the eldest son of 
Thomas Prentice and Lydia Wheeler Rand and a lineal descend- 
ant of Robert and Alice Rand, who came to this country from 
England in 1635. He was born in Francestown, N. H., Sept. 
14, 1853, and received his preliminary education in the public 
schools and academy of his native town. In 1875 he began the 
study of medicine under the direction of the Drs. Dearborn of 
Milford, N. H., and in the fall of the same year took his first 
course of medical lectures at Dartmouth college. In the winter 
of 1876 he taught in his native town and the following spring 

25-1 ( 385 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

entered the office of Dr. J. K. AVarren, of Palmer, as a student. 
The next fall he entered the medical department of Boston uni- 
versity and the following year joined the senior class of the New 
York Homoeopathic Medical college from which he was gradu- 
ated with "honorable mention" in the spring of 1878. In 1879 
he located in Monson. where he remained until his death. Nov. 
5, 1898. 

In the summer of 1883 Dr. Rand was married, and, in com- 
pany of his wife, spent the following nine months in post-gradu- 
ate study in the hospitals of Europe. His brother, Dr. J. P. 
Rand, who had graduated the previous March from the New 
York Homoeopathic -^ledical college, attended to his practice dur- 
ing his absence. Upon his return the two brothers were asso- 
ciated together until August 1, 1888, when Dr. J. P. Rand re- 
moved to Worcester. 

From this date until the time of his death Dr. N. W. Rand 
was the only homoeopathic practitioner in Monson. He made 
many friends. He had a large business and was greatly be- 
loved by his patients. For twelve years he served on the school 
committee and for eight of those years was its chairman. He 
was always an active Avorker in and out of the profession. He 
wrote many papers both medical and social and, together with 
his brother, in 1897 published a little volume of original verse. 
His professional ability and sterling integrity were quickly 
recognized by his associates in practice. He was made presi- 
dent of the Homoeopathic Medical societies of Worcester county 
and Western Massachusetts; vice-president and orator of the 
State Homoeopathic society, and at the time of his decease was 
lecturei- on fevers at the Boston university school of medicine. 

Upon the death of Dr. N. W. Rand, Dr. J. P. Rand returned 
to Monson. Like his brother he lias received various honors 
from the medical profession, serving as president of the Homoeo- 
pathic Medical societies of Worcester county and Western Massa- 
chusetts. In 1898 he was elected president of the Massachusetts 
Surgical and Gynaecological society, for two years he served as 
1st vice-president of the state society and in 1897 delivered the 
annual oration. 

( 386 ) 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 

The pioneer of homoeopathy in Palmer was Dr. Samuel 
Shaw, who settled tliere in 1857, although Dr. King, a physician 
of the old school who practiced here from 1824 to 1861, had given 
some time to the study of a few homoeopathic remedies and used 
them successfully. 

Dr. Shaw had been a physician in Wareham, Mass., and Al- 
bany, N. Y., previous to locating in Palmer. Becoming dis- 
satisfied with the treatment as practiced by the old school, he 
made a thorough study of homoeopathy and adopted it. He en- 
joyed a large practice and the confidence of the community for 
many years, till failing health obliged him to relinquish profes- 
sional work. 

Dr. George F. Forbes located in Palmer soon after Dr. 
Shaw and remained a short time, removing to West Brookfield 
where he established a large practice. 

In 1870, Dr. Shaw, becoming too feeble to continue the work, 
introduced Dr. J. K. Warren as his successor. The latter had 
just graduated from the New York Homoeopathic medical col- 
lege and hospital. He practiced in the town until 1883. and 
then removed to Worcester. 

Dr. G. H. AVilkins graduated from the New York Homoeo- 
pathic Medical college and hospital in 1883, and soon afterward 
succeeded to the practice of Dr. Warren. 

In Holyoke Dr. E. C. Newport was the first resident homoeo- 
pathic practitioner, having located there in 1868 fresh from his 
course in the New York Homoeopathic Medical college. With 
brief intervals he practiced in the city until his death a few 
years ago. 

In 1868 Drs. J. U. Woods and G. H. Smith settled and be- 
gan practice in Holyoke. A few years ago Dr. Woods removed 
to New Haven, but Dr. Smith remained and has since engaged 
in active and successful practice. He was graduated at Belle- 
vue Hospital Medical college in 1865, located first at Tariifville. 
Conn., removed thence to Illinois in 1866, and came to Holyoke 
in 1868. He is an ex-mayor of the city, also an ex-member of 
the school committee, and now is a member of the board of exam- 
iners for pensions. 

( 387 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Dr. H. E. Sackett, a graduate of the NeAV York Homoeo- 
pathic Medical college and hospital in 1893, settled in Holyoke 
in 1894 and now is in active practice there. He is president of 
the AY. M. H. INIedical society and a member of the Holyoke Med- 
ical association. 

Dr. F. A. Woods was graduated at the Hahnemann Medical 
college of Philadelphia in 1893, and immediately began practice 
in Holyoke, where now he is secretary of the board of health and 
a member of the surgical staff of the city hospital. 

In Westfield the oldest homoeopathic physician is Dr. Wil- 
bur F. Harding, a graduate of Hahnemann INIedical college in 
1857. He practiced several years in Greenfield and removed 
thence to Westfield. He is a member of the state and local 
homoeopathic medical societies. 

Dr. A. D. Schoonmaker, also a graduate of the Hahnemann 
Medical college in 1894, located in Westfield and now is in prac- 
tice in that town. 

Dr. Samuel Alvord, whose professional life was spent wholly 
in Chicopee Falls as a seat of practice, was born in West Spring- 
field and was specially educated for work as a school teacher; 
but when later on he entered the ranks of the medical profession 
he became one of the best exemplars of homoeopathy in the 
region. 

Dr. J. F. Hadley. formerly of Chicopee, and later of AYalt- 
ham, graduated at Boston university in 1882 and practiced in 
Chicopee two years. 

Dr. Samuel E. Fletcher, of Chicopee, graduated from the 
Boston School of Medicine in 1891. and succeeded to the prac- 
tice of Dr. Bennitt who had removed to Springfield. Dr. Fletcher 
is now city physician of Chicopee, 

Dr. George B. Maxfield, of Chicopee Falls, is a graduate of 
the Chicago Homoeopathic Medical college, class of '94. He 
located in this city in 1896. 

In the city of Springfield, the homoeopathic medical school 
has been well represented since Dr. Swazey's time; and among 
those representatives in later years there have been many men 
of high personal and professional attainments, who have won 

( 388 ) 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 

for themselves positions of commanding prominence and influ- 
ence in the community. A sketch of the professional career of 
each of these worthy disciples of Hahnemann would give added 
interest to this chapter but the policy of our work forbids. How- 
ever, we may mention the names of these practitioners without 
fear of transgressing any rule of propriety. 

Dr. A. M. Gushing, after a splendid elementary and profes- 
sional education, began his career as a physician in Bradford, 
Yt., in 1856, and in subsequent years, after various removals, 
finally settled in Springfield, where now he is the senior homoeo- 
pathic physician. 

Dr. Luke Corcoran was graduated at the New York Homoeo- 
pathic Medical college and hospital in 1868, and began his pro- 
fessional career in this city during that year. 

Dr. John H. Carmichael began his professional career in 
1873, and for three years practiced in Y'orcester, and upon the 
death of Dr. Collins he succeeded to his practice in this city. Dr. 
Carmichael is one of the most thoroughly educated and widely 
known homoeopathic physicians and surgeons in Western Massa- 
chusetts. 

Dr. Frank D. Maine graduated at the New York Homoeo- 
pathic Medical college and hospital in 1872 and came to Spring- 
field in 1894. 

Dr. Lorenzo W. Cole, a graduate of the New York Homoeo- 
pathic Medical college and hospital in 1873, has spent his entire 
professional life in this city. 

Dr. Oscar Waldo Roberts graduated from the Boston Uni- 
versity school of medicine in 1879, and practiced in Palmer and 
Ware previous to his coming to Springfield in 1890. 

Dr. H. E. Rice practiced in Springfield from 1883 to 1901. 

Dr. Francis M. Bennitt, a graduate of Cornell university 
and also of the N. Y. H. Medical college and hospital (1883) 
came to Springfield in the summer of 1884. 

Dr. George Rhoads, graduate of the LTniversity of Yermont 
in 1884, and of Hahnemann Medical college in 1889, located in 
Springfield in 1894. 

( 389 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Dr. Plumb Brown was graduated at the Hahnemann Med- 
ical college in Chicago in 1892, and settled in Springfield in 1895. 

Dr. Alice E. Rowe, a graduate of the Boston University 
school of medicine, began practice in Springfield in 1896. 

Dr. Clara M. Sweet, a graduate of the Boston University 
school of medicine, began practice in Springfield in 1894. 

Dr. Clarice J. Parsons, of Springfield, is a graduate of the 
New York Medical college and hospital for women, class of '94. 

Dr. Robert F. Hovey, a graduate of the New York Homoeo- 
pathic Medical college and hospital in 1897, came to Springfield 
in 1900, and associated in practice Avith Dr. Carmichael. 



CHAPTER XX 
THE DENTAL PROFESSION 

BY ANDREW J. FLAXA({AN, D. D. S. 

The history of dentistry in Western Massachusetts in gen- 
eral, and particularly in what is now Hampden county, dates 
back in authentic record to about 1825. It may be well to state 
in the beginning that the honest records of early practitioners of 
dentistry in the United States cannot be traced back earlier than 
1774. About 1800 the larger cities had a few practitioners per- 
forming the then limited operations of dentistry, and as they 
took apprentices and graduated the same, the smaller places in 
the various eonnnunities began to have visits from the itinerant 
or travelling practitioners. Dentistiy in those early days con- 
sisted mainly in the extraction of teeth and the insertion of arti- 
ficial ones, made of the tusks of the elephant or hippopotamus on 
a silver or gold base. The preservation of the natural teeth had 
little attention, and the limited operations in filling, consisted of 
either tin or soft gold foils. Extracting was by the use of the 
so-called turnkey, the forceps not being brought forth until the 

( 390 ) 



THE DEATAL PROFESSION 

earlier thirties. The teeth were all hand carved and naturally 
limited as to color and .durability. The practice was decidedly 
on the line of a trade and not of a profession. In the forties the 
first college was launched in the city of Baltimore and to-day 
we have in the United States alone nearly sixty acceptable and 
reputable colleges teaching dentistry on the broad and advanced 
lines of a learned profession. The eai'lier days found the men 
taking students with a guarantee not to divulge to others any of 
the secrets taught them ; the present finds secrecy past, and the 
ideas, inventions and operations of true worth are free to all for 
use in the amelioration of human ills. Then truly we may say, 
that the higher and nobler history dates from the birth of the 
first college. Dentistry was quite on a line with medicine as re- 
gards student pupilage and trade secrets, for the practitioner of 
medicine generally parted with his knowledge for considerations 
of a money nature — and the guarantee of secrecy; however, these 
methods were the custom of the times — and custom is the un- 
written law, and from the standpoint of the dominating spirit 
of the times quite in keeping with the general world. What is 
to-day may not be to-morrow, and the accepted of the past is not 
that of the present. The present finds dentistry keeping apace 
with the world's advancement. We owe much to those earlier 
pioneers, who "builded better than they knew.'' and especially 
to those advanced practitioners and thinkers who started the 
early dental colleges after being denied admission to the medical 
schools. The very adversity encountered was the means of 
building the superstructure existing to-day; the school wherein 
was brought forth the standard of the Avorld — American dent- 
istry. It is well for the public to recognize that he of the pres- 
ent who keeps methods to himself, who claims superiority over 
his fellows, and labors not for humanity and the profession, has 
no part in what is accepted as the standard of the present. Mod- 
ern dentistry emanated from ethical men, down through the 
gamut of acceptable colleges, true dental societies and advanced 
dental journalism. The unethical, the charlatan, and the un- 
charitable make a trade of what should be a profession. All 
honor to those practitioners who labor diligently in whatever 

( 391 ) 



01 R COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

capacity for the advancement along true lines of our "esprit de 
corps." 

The first dentist Avho practiced the art in Hampden county 
was probably an itinerant named Dr. Appleton who advertised 
in January, 1825, "as attending to the cleaning and preserving 
of the teeth," and as having tooth powder for sale. At that 
time he was stopping in Springfield. A thorough perusal of the 
early newspapers fails to state Avhere he came from, whether he 
had medical knowledge also, or from whom he obtained his dental 
instruction. In August, 1826, a Dr. Darrah was in Springfield 
and advertised as operating in the cleaning, filling and extract- 
ing of teeth ; also inserting artificial teeth, claiming an ex- 
perience of sixteen years, and was recommended by Dr. J. Y. C. 
Smith of Boston. Search has revealed the fact that Dr. Smith 
was a practitioner of dentistry in connection with the practice 
of medicine. When Ambrose Lawrence, M. D., began the prac- 
tice of dentistry in the then young city of Lowell, October 1, 
1839, he found a Robert Darrah practicing dentistry there. Un- 
doubtedly this Dr. Darrah was the same one who formerly vis- 
ited Springfield. 

Before 1830 Dr. Charles Stratton had a circuit of towns 
northeast of Springfield and finally located permanently at Am- 
herst about 1830. He was uncle to Dr. Chester Stratton, one 
of the founders of the Connecticut Valley Dental society. 

Dr. C. T. Stockwell of this city has heard from old residents 
of a Dr. Liscomb of Ware who had a circuit in the twenties in 
and near Si)ringfield. The newspapers of that time fail to au- 
thenticate this. 

According to a Dr. Booth who wrote a series of historical 
sketches for the New England Homestead in 1868, Jacob Per- 
kins, jr., commenced the practice of dentistry in Springfield 
about 1830. The New England Homestead was printed by- 
Henry Burt in Springfield and was the predecessor of our pres- 
ent Springfield Homestead. The following is from an article 
by Dr. Booth: Jacob Perkins, jr., got some insight into the 
business from a Dr. Partridge and afterward opened an office 
in his father's house, then standing on the present site of Olivet 

( 392 ) 



THE DENTAL PIWFESSWX 

church, about 1830 or soon afterward. He was an excellent 
mechanic, making all his tools and the only practitioner of the 
art at the time between Hartford and Northampton. He ever 
remained one of the best operative dentists during his residence 
here. His brother, Cyrus Perkins, opened an office in 1835. In 
those early days pivot teeth were much used in making plates, 
such work being onlj^ prosecuted under the greatest disadvan- 
tages. Plates were beat or bent up by a tedious process, the 
now common way of swedging— both quick and easy— being a 
later invention. Artificial teeth were then carved from the 
tooth of the hippopotamus on account of its hardness, and even a 
set of ten teeth in one block was carved from the single specimen. 
But they decayed worse than the natural human teeth. The 
earliest advertisement of Dr. Perkins I have been able to find, is 
taken from the Springfield Gazette of February 6, 1833. "Dr. 
Perkins, Surgeon Dentist, respectfully informs the ladies and 
gentlemen of Springfield and vicinity, that he remains in readi- 
ness at his office in State Street opposite United States Armory, 
to attend to those in want of his professional services. He in- 
serts teeth with ease and with as little pain as the circumstances 
of case may permit. Siliceous, metallic or incorruptible teeth 
set, and other artificial teeth set in a manner not inferior to any 
in the United States. Gangrene of the teeth removed, and the 
decayed teeth rendered artificially sound by stopping them with 
gold, which will prevent further decay. Teeth cleaned in the 
hest manner of salivary calculus (tartar) hence removing a bad 
hreath. Particular attention paid to changing of children's 
teeth and irregularities prevented. Teeth extracted with perfect 
safety and as little pain. as the nature of the case will allow." 

Dr. Perkins before taking up dentistry worked as a machin- 
ist in the United States armory in Springfield. He began his 
dental experience by extracting teeth for his fellow M^orkmen. 
and becoming quite expert at this part of the profession, he left 
the armory and branched out as a dentist. In a short time he 
Avas able to do very creditable work in making plates and filling 
teeth and was largely patronized by the best people of the town 
and vicinity. He continued practice here for many years, but 

( 393 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

was finally obliged to leave the city to escape arrest. He after- 
ward returned and died not many years ago. After leaving 
Arniory hill the doctor's next office was for many years over 
what is now Clongh 's restaurant on Main street and from there 
he moved to a small bnilding which stood on. the front lawn of a 
house located at what is now the southeast corner of Chestnut 
and Linden streets. Cyrus Perkins, a brother, studied dent- 
istry with Jacob and for a few years was associated with him in 
practice. We find many of his advertisements in the papers 
from 1844 to 1855. His method of announcing his services was 
decidedly unusual and now would not be in harmony with the 
dignity of the profession. One of his "ads." reads as follows: 
"Teeth! Teeth! May 10, 1844. The subscriber has just re- 
ceived, direct from the manufacturer, some of the most beautiful 
incorruptible mineral teeth, which will be inserted in all the vari- 
ous modes at the lowest rates, viz. : Best pivot teeth inserted on 
roots of the natural teeth in the best manner and warranted to 
give good satisfaction at $2.00 and $3.50. Best plate teeth in- 
serted on gold plate, in the best manner and with or without col- 
ored gums, $8.00, $3.50. Sets of upper teeth on atmospheric 
principle with or without imitation gums, warranted to answer 
most of the purposes of articulation and mastication, from $35.00 
to $40.00. References from people who have used the atmos- 
ph'eric teeth of the subscriber 's make from one to five years, with 
good satisfaction, can be seen at his office. All operations done 
at lowest rates and in the best manner. C. Perkins, office over 
J. Kendall's boot and shoe store, opposite Exchange Temperance 
Hotel, Main Street." 

His office was later moved to corner of Sanford and INIain 
streets, over what is now Brewer's drug store, where he remained 
in practice until about 1882. 

Silas Bliss, who formerly was associated with Dr. Westeott 
of Syracuse. N. Y., — a dentist of great repute— came to Spring- 
field in 1840. Before coming he had an itinerant practice in 
New York state and travelled principally by canal. Dr. Bliss 
also had an office at ^A^ilbraham and alternated between the two 
places. He rarely used gold in filling teeth, it is said, preferring 

( 394 ) 



THE DENTAL PnOFESSWN 

tin. His office in Springfield was at the corner of Fort and 
Main Streets. Dr. J. M. Riggs, of "Riggs disease" fame, be- 
gan practice at Chicopee Falls— then a part of Springfield— in 
1840. He then went or rather returned to Hartford, Ct., where 
he died Nov. 11, 1855. He was at one time high school master 
at Hartford. Dr. George H. White, who studied with Dr. Gun- 
ning of New York city, came to Springfield in 1842. He had 
practiced in New York before coming to this city, having an office 
on Chambers street. After remaining here for thirteen years 
he returned to New York (1855) and died in Florida, August 
12, 1879. Dr. White had his office and residence on Fountain 
Row directly opposite our present court square and about where 
the Flint & Brickett building now stands. He was an expert 
porcelain worker and while here taught many practitioners of 
New England the dental art. In fact, he had what might be 
termed a school of porcelain art. According to an advertise- 
ment in the local papers of 1848 we find him using chloroform 
for the painless extraction of teeth. We also find Dr. White 
giving references from prominent people as to his ability as a 
dentist. This was a practice common among our physicians of 
that time. Dr. N. E. Ames came to Springfield to live in 1839, 
and died only a few years ago Avhile located on upper State 
street opposite Benton park. He studied with James Weed, 
M. D., of Hartford, who also practiced dentistry. Before he 
opened an office in Springfield, he for twenty years regularly 
visited a circuit of towns to the east of the city, beginning at 
Ware. In 1859 he established a permanent office in Springfield. 
He was born at Barre, JNIass.. Oct. 23, 1814 ; was at one time a 
printer with G. & C. Merriam, the famous publishers at Spring- 
field. 

After leaving the Merriams he printed a paper for a short 
time in New Haven, Ct. In his earlier years the doctor was a 
great lover of horses and during the time of his circuit practice 
he had the reputation of owning the fastest horses on the road. 
For many years he Avas a firm believer and worker for total ab- 
stinence principles. He was a great advocate and user of chloro- 
form as an anaesthetic. 

( 395 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Dr. Flavins Searle came to Springfield in 1839. He was 
born in Sonthampton, Mass., April 4th, 1814. His early studies 
were with reference to his entering the ministry. He taught 
school at intervals and finally entered Amherst college, but, 
owing to poor health did not graduate. Subsequently he en- 
tered Marietta college, but his health did not permit him to con- 
tinue. Later he took up the study of medicine and made a 
specialty of dentistry under the tutorship of Dr. AValker of 
Northampton, Avho was both physician and dentist. Graduat- 
ing at the office of Dr. Walker he opened an office at Springfield 
in 1839, but made excursions into adjoining towns for a time, 
as an itinerate. An advertisement in the Springfield directory of 
1851 announces him as a physician and dentist. No man who 
has practiced dentistry in this part of the state was more be- 
loved, respected and honored than Dr. Searle. He was an honor 
to the growing profession and did much to advance it in the esti- 
mation of the community. He came to be known as the ''father" 
of dentistry in this region, not only because of his conservatively 
progressive influence, but because he was the first to open his 
office and laboratory as well as his well stored mind and heart to 
his fellow practitioners. These and his friendly aid and assist- 
ance were always open to the call of all competitors. All of this 
was fully illustrated by a remarkable tribute paid to him in 
October, 1887, by the Connecticut Valley Dental society, of 
which he was the principal founder and its first president, in the 
celebration of the 50th anniversary of his professional life. This 
was the "judgment day" for Dr. Searle, and his professional 
associates, from all over the land, constituted the court of justice, 
either by personal presence or personal letters. And this is not 
all ; the mayor of the city, representatives of medical, legal, cler- 
ical and other professions, came to do him honor. In fact, he 
was overwhelmed with expressions of esteem, love and congratu- 
lation. On the 10th of February, 1889— seventeen months from 
this happy event— Dr. Searle died. On the occasion of his 
funeral a special meeting of the Connecticut Valley Dental so- 
ciety was called, and in a body the members followed his remains 
to the grave. On this occasion a notable memorial address was 

( 390 ) 




Flavins Searle, D. D. S. 



OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE 

given by (Jeorge S. ^MtM'rijiiii. a neighbor and one of the foremost 
men of the city. 

Dr. Searle was the inventor of various methods and appli- 
ances, but gave everything he devised as contributions to the ad- 
vancement of liis profession. For several years he made all his 
own instrnments. and in 1858, being in need of an operating 
chair, he made one for himself. Of this chair he said : "I 
used to go to church and try to be good, but that chair would go 
with me, and be working its parts together before the whole con- 
gregation."" Dr. Searle was a constant student in everything 
that related to his profession, but more than this, he was alive to 
all matters of intellectual and scientific concern, a man of 
deep insight and accurate .judgment, always in search of the 
newest and most advanced aspects of truth in whatever realm. 
It appears that one Van Horn, a cabinet-maker of West Spring- 
field, made several of the Searle dental chairs and put them on 
the market for sale. About 1879, Dr. Elroy F. Cross started' 
practice with one of these chairs, and after being discarded by 
him Dr. J. ^\"esley Shaw obtained it, and in turn sold it to Wm. 
M. Williams of dental depot fame. In May, 1888, the writer 
obtained this chair, used it for more than a year and finally sold 
it to a dental house of Philadelphia, Pa. It was even at this 
late day a serviceable and convenient chair. Dr. Searle from 
1869 to the time of his death was located in Bill's block, 342 Main 
street. He had granted to him the honorary degree of D. D. S. 
Dr. C. S. Hurlbut came to Springfield in 1852. He studied 
with Dr. George H. White and was for a time in Cleveland, Ohio. 
He started to go to Chicago, but was told at Cleveland that Chi- 
cago was not large enough to support a dentist and so remained 
in Cleveland for a while, after which he returned to this city. 
In 1858 he attended the Baltimore Dental school, being the first 
graduate of a dental institution from this part of the state. Dr. 
Hurlbut early .joined the Connecticut Valley Dental society and 
was associated for many years in an active capacity on various 
committees. In 1853-4 he served on the executive committee: 
in 1865-6 was treasurer; in 1877-8 was 2d vice-president; in 
1878-80 w^as 1st vice-president and in 1880-81 was president. 

( 398 ) 



THE DEM'AL I'HOFESSIOX 

The doctor served as preceptor for many practitioners and a 
number of our local dentists were students under his guidance. 
He died Jan. 6. 1901. At the time of his death he was a mem- 
ber of the Valley District and Massachusetts Dental societies. 
The members of the fii'st mentioned society attended his funeral 
in a body and passed i-esolutions relative to his worth and loss to 
the profession. 

Dr. Lester Noble, now of Longmeadow, but formerly in 
active practice in Washington, D. C, and afterward of Spring- 
field, is the oldest dental graduate in this vicinity. He studied 
with Dr. Keep of Boston, and was at one time a tutor at the Bal- 
timore Dental college, from which he obtained his degree. Dr. 
Keep commenced practice in Longmeadow as early and perhaps 
earlier than 1840. He was employed in a spectacle factory and 
his first "victims" in the new art were his shopmates and their 
families. However, he soon went to Boston and became one of 
the most successful dentists in the country. It was in his office 
that the artificial dental plate was made for Dr. Parkman, who 
was murdei'ed by Prof. AYebster of Harvard college. By the 
testimony of Drs. Keep and Noble— then a student with Dr. 
Keep— Prof. Webster was convicted of the murder. This was 
the most noted murder trial of the time and in fact one of the 
most noted of all history. Dr. Noble, who made the plate, was 
summoned from the Baltimore Dental college— he then being a 
student there— and was able to produce the metal cast upon 
which the plate found among the remains of Dr. Parkman was 
made. The excitement that accompanied and followed the 
bringing into juxtaposition the plate and cast in the court, and 
the demonstration that each was the counter-part of the other, 
thus identifying the human fragments taken from the furnace 
of Prof. Webster's, was dramatic in the extreme. Dr. Noble 
was demonstrator of mechanical dentistry at the Baltimore col- 
lege during 1851-2 and in September, 1852, arranged an associa- 
tion with Dr. Maynard of Washington, which continued until 
1859, when on account of poor health he was forced to give up 
practice for ten years. In 1869 he opened an office in this city, 
and for many years was one of our leading practitioners. He 

( 399 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

gave up active practice in 1898, and in that year the Valley Dis- 
trict Dental society presented him with a memorial autograph 
album and listened to a very interesting paper of his 
reminiscences during the early days of the administra- 
tion of ether, for his studentship started only one month 
after the first surgical operation under the influence of 
ether at the Massachusetts General hospital. Thus his stu- 
dentship saw the advent of air chambers, the use of anaesthesia 
in surgery and the use of amalgam as a filling material. He pre- 
pared a paper on "Personal Recollections of the early use of sul- 
phuric ether as an anaesthetic," which played no small part in 
clearing the misty atmosphere of those early days in reference to 
the real discoverer of anaesthesia. Dr. Noble is now an honor- 
ary member of the ]\Iassachusetts and Valley District Dental 
societies. 

Every few years we have had some aspirant spring up with 
a "painless system of dentistry." The last decade has pro- 
duced its crop in this respect, and it is most interesting to here 
state that the so-called "painless dentist" is rather an ancient 
thing hereabouts, for about 1849 a Mr. Davis, who kept a daguer- 
reotype shop on Armory hill, branched out with a painless sys- 
tem. If the daguerreotype business did not produce an income 
the "painless method" certainly did for a few years. His 
"method" proved to be the placing of arsenic in a carious and 
aching tooth until the ache had subsided and then filling over the 
decay with a substance composed of mercury and silver coin 
filings. It certainly was painless for the time being, but the 
future developed quite another result — at least his patients in 
time thought so. Similar methods have since been foisted on the 
public and the results have been quite on par with those of 
earlier days. A few years ago we had the so-called "Hale 
Method" and history was again repeated. Its local sponsor soon 
lost his prestige and departed for other fields. The intelligent 
public are coming to understand that it is best to discriminate 
between the unethical and ethical practitioners, and that the use 
of large signs and the public prints to call attention to certain 
questionable methods of practice are a delusion and a snare. 

( 400 ) 



THE DENTAL PROFESSION 

Dr. Jesse Porter of Chicopee, Mass., was born May 13, 1834, 
in Detroit, Michigan. In 1852, he commenced a studentship of 
two years with Dr. Joseph Beals of Greenfield, Mass. Dr. Beals 
in the early years of the profession made a specialty of teaching 
dentistry and many of the older men were taught by this con- 
scientious and learned practical dentist. In 1855 he worked for 
his uncle, William Lester, M. D., of South Hadley, who, although 
a physician, graduate of the Berkshire jNIedical college, practiced 
dentistry as well. Dr. Lester learned practical dentistry from 
Drs. White of Northampton and Beals of Greenfield. While 
with Dr. Lester, he for part of the time had an office at North 
Hadley. In ]May, 1856, Dr. Porter came to Chicopee and has 
been located there ever since. From 1856 to 1859 he made occa- 
sional trips for a few days to South Hadley, Hadley and North 
Hadley, often arising at -1 a. m. In 1855, Dr. N. E. Ames of 
Sprino:field persuaded him to try two weeks with him as mechan- 
ical dentist, with a view to future partnership. Dr. Ames at 
this time had a circuit taking in the Brookfields, Braintree, War- 
ren, Ware and Spencer. Not being in accord with Dr. Ames in 
minor points, Dr. Porter decided not to form the partnership. 
As showing the difference between the old and the new methods 
of practice, we give an inventory of Dr. Porter's office in 1857. 
A suite of two ordinary rooms at a rent of $50 per year, one room 
serving for operating and waiting room and the other for labor- 
atory work. In the first room were an Archer dental chair, four 
common wooden chairs, a cabinet made from an old instrument 
case set on a stand, tAvo pairs of yellow cotton curtains, and on 
the floor a Bockin carpet (a carpet not now in use and made of 
cotton with a printed figure). The cabinet contained nine pairs 
of Chevalier forceps, six ivory handled plug:gers, two dozen exca- 
vators, and these last included the so-called burs. The labora- 
tory contained a Chevalier lathe : an old table with a filing block 
and two drawers attached for gold and silver work; alcohol for 
heating up cases and soldering; two blow pipes— one compound 
and one mouth blow pipe, a barrel of plaster, and a few impres- 
sion cups. AYhile this may seem a meagre outfit from present 
point of understanding, yet in those days it was considered quite 



26-1 



( 401 ) 



Oim COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

extravagant, especially the Archer chair, for many used nothing 
but an ordinary wooden rocker. When he came to Chicopee, sev- 
eral practitioners were there. Drs. Lovejoy, Buckminster, Mor- 
gan, Lawrence and Robinson, and at Chicopee Falls a Dr. Henry. 
Dr. Lovejoy had tAVo sons who were students in his office. There 
was no professional exchange of ideas or courtesies, each looking 
on the other as an instruder. It is interesting to record that in 
August, 1859, the panic year. Dr. Porter had in fees just $16.00. 
In 1859 and a little later there came to Chicopee, Dr. Pease who 
had studied with Dr. Flavins Searle of Springfield : Dr. Rice 
from Great Barrington ; Dr. AVaite and Dr. Sweet. Dr. Waite 
in a few years sold his practice to Dr. A. M. Ross. There fol- 
lowed Dr.* Henry at the Falls. Dr. C. T. Stoekwell and Dr. M. AV. 
Miles. 

Between 1855 and 1860 there was a Dr. Nettleton, who lived 
in West Springfield next to where the old Belden tavern stood. 
He seems to have been an itinerant, fond of horses and horse 
trading. He Avent from house to house soliciting patronage. 
Traces of him have been found in Westfield, Southwick, Hunt- 
ington and Chester. Along about 1860 he went to Worcester 
and was permanently located there for many years. He died 
there a few years ago. Westfield 's first practitioner was Dr. 
Isaac Woolworth. born May 1. 1810. in Pinckney, N. Y. : grad- 
uated from Fairfield college, Herkimer county. New York, in 
1834. While at this college special attention was paid to medi- 
cine and dentistry and during vacation time he prescribed for 
persons needing medical attention and relieved the Avoes of those 
needing dentistry by extraction and the filling of teeth. After 
graduation he first practiced medicine. Late in 1834 he was in 
Montreal. Canada, and paid some little attention to dentistry. 
It Avas at this time that Montreal had its famous epidemic of 
cholera and tlie doctor rendered valuable aid in the capacity of 
physician, many times haAnng to assist in the burying of the 
dead. In 1836 he returned to the states and located in Westfield. 
at Avhich time it Avas necessary to take his instruments and travel 
about the country, doing Avork in the homes of his patients. 
After a time he had established a patronage large enough to Avar- 

( 402 ) 



THE DENTAL PEOFESSION 

rant his giving up .journeying and remain at his home in West- 
field. In 1839 he removed to Hartford, but was soon persuaded 
to remove to Southbridge, Mass., where he remained until 1842, 
when he returned to AYestfield and practiced until 1857. He 
then removed to Meriden, Conn., and afterward to New Haven; 
he died Feb. 14, 1879. Dr. Woolworth was a worthy represen- 
tative of his profession and had many students, among whom 
maj' be mentioned IMartin Tinker, who settled in St. Louis, Mo. ; 
William Bush of Westfield, who first settled in Alabama and 
afterw^ard in Brooklyn, N. Y., where his sons practice dentistry 
at the present time ; Dr. Alfred Woolworth, a brother, who prac- 
ticed a number of years at North Brookfield ; Anson Munger and 
Henry INI. Miller of Westfield, both well and favorably known. 
Dr. Woolworth was a member and a contributor by essays and 
clinics to the advancement of the Connecticut Dental society: a 
man of learning, of broad views and progressive ideas, enthusias- 
tic in his calling, always anxious to elevate the scientific aspects 
of his profession and ever ready to give others the benefit of his 
years of study in medicine and dental surgery. His students 
always left him to enter practice, filled with high fundamentals 
and ideals from his inaster mind. Up to the time he practiced at 
Southbridge he had done no work in artificial dentistry and see- 
ing a set of teeth which had been made by a Dr. Morrell of Wor- 
cester, Mass., he called on him and desired instruction in the art. 
As showing the spirit of the times, it is only necessary to state 
that he was unsuccessful and had to return home and work out 
the problem unaided. He invented many useful appliances for 
his own use. always fashioning his instruments to suit the re- 
quirements of each case. In 1870 he edited a book on dentistry 
for the use and instruction of his patrons. It is a work worthy 
of a place on the shelves of every dental library. Dr. Woolworth 
descended from an old and honorable Massachusetts family from 
whom he inherited a fondness for study and investigation, and 
although living in a new and unsettled country, where educa- 
tional advantages were almost unattainable— three brothers in 
the family acquired a profession. 

( 403 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Dr. H. ]M. Miller, now living in AVestfield, but not in active 
practice, -was born in West Springfield, June 10, 1826/ He 
taught school in that neighborhood for seven winters and began 
the study of dentistry with Dr. Woolworth in 1849. On Sep- 
tember 2, 1851, he commenced practice at Plymouth, but re- 
turned to Westfield in October, 1856, and has remained there 
ever since, except during the year 1866. The art of carving 
teeth was learned from Dr. George H. AVhite of Springfield. He 
has ever been an ethical, conscientious and unselfish practitioner, 
an active working member of the old Connecticut Valley society, 
serving in many subordinate offices and its president in 1873-4. 
At present he is an honorary member of the Massachusetts and 
Valley District Dental societies. 

Dr. E. Lincoln Clark studied dentistry in Northampton with 
Dr. AYoolworth of AVestfield and located about 1855 in Westfield 
and remained until 1860, when he left for Dubuque, Iowa, where 
he is still in practice. Dr. H. AY. Clapp studied with Dr. A. S. 
Flagg of AVhitinsville, Mass., and practiced there for a short 
time. Leaving dentistry he entered the U. S. armory where he 
was employed for a brief period. About 1865 he entered Dr. 
H. M. Miller's office, and in a few months bought this practice. 
He is still in practice in Westfield. 

Dr. E. M. Goodrich, who now has a summer practice at Cot- 
tage City and a winter one in Florida, bought the practice of Dr. 
E. Lincoln Clark in 1860, but later sold it to Dr. G. A. Walkley, 
a graduate of the New York College of Dentistry. Dr. Walkley 
is still in practice there. 

A student of Dr. E. Lincoln Clark's named Greenwood had 
an office for a short time at Chester, Mass. This was in the early 
sixties. 

Dr. E. D. Hutchinson, now a physician and surgeon of West- 
field, also practiced dentistry in Chester in the late sixties. 

The first resident dentist in Palmer was probably Dr. Joseph 
Gould. He is knoAvn to have been in practice there in the early 

'Dr. H. M. Miller died in Westfield. April 9, lOOii. His funeral was attend- 
ed by members of many dental societies. The profession lost a true member and 
the people a noble representative of humanity. 

( 404 ) 



THE DEXTAL PEOFESSION 

sixties. He had a relative, Dr. J. M. C4ould of East Douglass, 
Mass., with Avhom he studied for a few years. After leaving 
Palmer he had an office for a time in the Massasoit block in 
Springfield. 

Dr. A. B. Cowan of Springfield, who studied with Dr. Fla- 
vius Searle, was the next resident practitioner in Palmer and 
remained there for many years. Before taking up dentistry he 
was an expert machinist. He died some three years ago. He 
was a member of the Connecticut Valley Dental society for sev- 
eral years. About 1880 he had an office for a year in Spring- 
field.' 

Dr. Cyrus W. Cross, a veteran of the civil war, was born in 
Monson, July 15, 1807. and died in Palmer a few years ago. He 
took up the study of dentistry (after returning from the war) 
with Dr. Joseph Gould and later with Dr. J. M. Gould of East 
Douglass. After completing his course he had an office for two 
years in Wilbraham. He then returned to Palmer and was in 
active practice up to the time of his death. He joined the Con- 
necticut Valley Dental society Oct. 21, 1875, and retained a mem- 
bership for several years. 

The first resident practitioner in Holyoke was Dr. George 
Bowers, who located there in the fifties. At one time Dr. Bowers 
had a son in practice with him. He left Holyoke for Springfield. 
Vermont, where he resided for many years, afterwards going to 
Nashua, N. H. 

Dr. Henry Wheeler was the next practitioner in Holyoke 
and was in active practice in the late fifties and early sixties. He 
died in Maine several years ago. He was a firm believer in 
magic and hypnotism and practiced the latter to a certain extent. 

Dr. D. INIurlless started in the early sixties and is still in 
active practice in Holyoke. He joined the Connecticut Valley 
Dental society June 10, 1869, and is still a member of its succes- 
sor body, the Northeastern Dental association. 

Dr. H. 0. Hastings began practice in Holyoke in the late 
sixties. He was a student with Dr. "Wheeler. He joined the 
Connecticut Valley Dental -society June 17, 1873, and was a 
member at time of its consoldiation. He is at present a member 

( 405 ) 



01' R COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

of the Massachusetts and Valley District societies and is still in 
practice. 

Dr. Levi C. Taylor studied with Dr. Bowers at Springfield, 
Vermont came to Holyoke, Jan. 1, 1868, and formed a partner- 
ship with Dr. Hastings. They jointly purchased Dr. Wheeler's 
practice. This partnership lasted for several months. Dr. 
Taylor bought out Dr. Hastings and continued there until 1875, 
when he went to Hartford. Dr. Taylor joined the Connecticut 
Valley Dental society Oct. 23, 1868, and ever remained a true, 
conscientious, progressive member. He served in many subordi- 
nate offices and was its president in 1877-8. 

Drs. D. H. and E. C. Smith, brothers, commenced practice in 
the early seventies. On June 13, 1872, Dr. D. H. Smith was 
elected to membership in the Connecticut Valley Dental society 
and Dr. E. C. Smith on Oct. 3, 1874. They retained membership 
but a short time. Dr. E. C. Smith is now in practice in West- 
field. His brother is still in Holyoke. Dr. D. G. Haskins, 
brother of Rev. P. J. Haskins, graduated from the Philadelphia 
Dental college and commenced practice in the early seventies. 
He joined the Connecticut Valley Dental society Oct. 24, 1872, 
but held his membership only a few years. He died recently. 

Dr. C. A. Brackett, now one of the best and most progressive 
dentists of Newport, R. I., was in Holyoke in the early seventies 
serving studentship in the office of Dr. Levi C. Taylor. He 
joined the Connecticut Valley Dental society June 17, 1873. 

Dr. a. S. H. Comins was in Holyoke from 1876 to 1879. 

Dr. George A. Maxfield, a graduate of the University of 
Pennsylvania, came to Holyoke about 1881 and is still in active 
practice. Dr. Maxfield has labored industriously to elevate the 
standard of professional life by active work in the various dental 
societies. For many years he was secretary of the Connecticut 
Valley society and it may be said that no one man has done 
greater good for dentistry in an official capacity. Since the con- 
solidation into the Northeastern he has refused its presidency. He 
has read essays and given clinics before many societies. He is 
an honorary member of the Vermont, New Hampshire, Delaware 
and Connecticut State associations, and ex-president of the Mas- 

( 406 ) 



THE DENTAL PROFESSION 

sachusetts and a censor of the Valley District societies. He has 
been honored with membership of the board of registration in 
dentistry, and at present is serving his second term as one of the 
membership of five. 

Dr. Pardon Hildreth Derby was born in Lowell, Mass., Dec. 
5, 1827, and studied dentistry with Dr. C. S. Hurlbnt, sr. In 
1860 he opened an office at the corner of Main and Pynchon 
streets, where lie remained nntil burned out by the "great fire." 
Soon afterward he formed a partnership with Dr. Flavins Searle. 
Dr. Derby was probably the first dentist to administer gas in 
Springfield for the painless extraction of teeth. About 1860 Dr. 
Colton gave a free exhibition in our city hall of the effects of 
nitrous oxide gas upon individuals. Dr. Derby remembers that 
the late Tilly Haynes and George R. Townsley inhaled the gas, 
the result being that ^Ir. Haynes chased Mr. Townsley around the 
platform to the amusement of the audience. Dr. Colton on the 
same evening extracted a tooth for a person under its deeper 
influence. This exhibition was a perfect success. ]Many practi- 
tioners of the later years have been students in his office. He 
was one of the charter members of the Connecticut Valley society 
and remained an active and official member to the time of its 
consolidation, when he joined its successor— the Northeastern. 
In commenting on his career in dentistry Dr. Derby has said: 
"Forty years is a long time to practice a profession, and great 
improvements have been made along many lines, which enables 
the practitioner to work more easily for himself and his 
patients." 

Dr. M. B. Renslow served a studentship with Dr. Flavins 
Searle and opened an office about 1866 on Main street. Being an 
expert barber and mechanic he naturally was of an inventive 
turn of mind and early in his career invented a gas pressure reg- 
ulator for use in the manufacture of nitrous oxide gas. In 
partnership with Dr. Searle it was put on the market, but the 
manufacturers soon offered the same article in metal cylin- 
ders, so the usefulness of the regulator was soon at an end. 
After remaining here about three years Dr. Renslow bought a 
practice in Hartford where he died in the course of a few years. 

( 407 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

It has been said that Dr. Renslow also invented a regulator for 
controlling vulcanizers, but this has never been verified. 

Dr. David Le Gro was born in Ogdensburgh, N. Y., March 
17, 1801. For many years he was employed at the United States 
armory as an inspector and early in his career there extracted 
teeth for his fellow laborers. He opened an office for evening 
work at his home on Byers street. Up to this time his principal 
attempt at dentistry had been in the line of extraction. After a 
few years of such work he left the armory and began inserting 
teeth. He died in Springfield, August 24, 1878. 

Dr. J. J. Anderson was born in Oswego, N. Y., IMarch 19, 
1832. He served a studentship with his relative, Dr. Le Gro. 
and after a few years had passed he joined the Connecticut 
Valley Dental society October 31, 1865, and a few years after- 
ward graduated from the Philadelphia Dental college. Dr. 
Anderson developed into a thorough, educated and ethical repre- 
sentative of dentistry, and soon had a lucrative practice. For 
his time and years he was one of the best representatives of the 
profession. He served in many subordinate positions in the Con- 
necticut Valley society and was its president in 1874-5. He died 
in this city March 8, 1877. Dr. Anderson always acknowledged 
obligations to the Connecticut Valley society membership in 
starting him on the accepted and correct professional life. After 
his death, his son. Dr. Charles L. Anderson, a graduate of the 
Philadelphia Dental college, conducted the practice. He had a 
successful career for a few years previous to his removal to 
Washington, D. C, where he has since practiced. 

Dr. J. N. Dodge, a veteran of the civil war. studied dentistry 
with his uncle, Dr. Nettleton of Worcester, and located in Spring- 
field about 1867 or '68. He was an amateur artist and sculptor 
and had much artistic instinct. For many years he enjoyed a 
large practice. He was the inventor of an ether inhaler which 
was used locally for some time. Experimenting with anaesthetics 
brought him into a better understanding of nitrous oxide gas and 
he formed a company for the manufacture and sale of "Com- 
pound Oxygen." It was not successful and the doctor lost 
money in the enterprise. He was a member of the Connecticut 

( 408 ) 



THE DENTAL PROFESSION 

Valley society thoiigh never prominent iu its work. He died in 
this city about four years ago. 

Dr. S. B. Bartholomew was born September 15, 1828, in 
Hamilton, New York. He attended the common schools and Col- 
gate academy where his step-father. Professor Morse, was for 
many years principal. About 1847 he came to Worcester and 
studied dentistry with Dr. Newton. About 1848 he opened an 
office in Woonsocket, R. I., and practiced there with success for 
some years. He served two terms in the Ehode Island assembly. 
During the time Governor Sprague was chief executive of Rhode 
Island, he served on his staff with the rank of colonel. Prom 
1861 to 1865 he was officially connected with the recruiting de- 
partment of Rhode Island. At the close of the war he returned 
to AVorcester, bought an interest in the Gazette and for the next 
few years acted in the capacity of advertising solicitor, business 
manager and editor. About 1869 he sold out his newspaper 
interests, and after a period of travel, came to Springfield and 
opened an office in the block where now the D. H. Brigham Co. is 
located. He retired from active practice in 1895. On June 16, 
1870, he joined the Connecticut Valley Dental association, serv- 
ing in many offices. While serving on its executive committee 
he did such good work that it is even spoken of at the present 
day. In the early eighties he was for three years a lecturer at 
the Baltimore Dental college and presented many lectures and 
clinics of a varied nature. He is remembered as a speaker of 
ability and few in his day equalled him as a forceful, logical, 
extemporaneous orator. He is said to have obtained his first 
knowledge of elocution and oratory from Prof. Raymond of Vas- 
sar college. While in this city he enjoyed a lucrative practice. 
He died November 11, 1898, in Boston, and was buried in 
Thompson, Conn. For many years of his life the doctor was 
interested in copper mines, and at the time of his death derived 
a considerable income from this source. 

Dr. James E. O'Brien graduated from Springfield high 
school with the class of 1879. He served a studentship of four or 
five years with Dr. J. N. Dodge and afterward graduated from 
the Philadelphia Dental college. About 1880 he opened an office 

( 409 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

in Fallon's block, 880 Main street, wliere he remained for about 
thirteen years, nntil ill health compelled him to give up hard 
professional work. He was a member of the Connecticut Valley 
society, though never active in its affairs. 

Dr. John F. O'Neill Avas a graduate of our high school and 
the Philadelphia Dental college. His first oifice was at 357 Main 
street and his last in the Fidler block. He was a member of the 
Connecticut Valley, Massachusetts and Valley District societies. 
He died in this city in 1897. 

Ambrose J. Devereaux served a studentship with Dr. P. H. 
Derby during 1873-4 and afterwards went to New Haven where 
he died about eight years ago. 

George M. Slate was a student with Dr. Lester Noble for 
more than a year and graduated from the Philadelphia Dental 
college. He had an office at 438 Main street in 1874-5. He soon 
afterward left for Australia and became the foremost practition- 
er in Melbourne. 

Dr. Ealph Morgan, who practiced in Chicopee many years, 
came from that town to Springfield and had an office for a short 
time in the Massasoit House block. 

Dr. Charles D. Carter spent a studentship of about two 
years with Dr. C. S. Hurlbut, sr., and then graduated from the 
Philadelphia Dental college. In 1874 he opened an office at 162 
Chestnut street, and soon had a large clientage. About 1880 he 
w-as compelled to seek a more favorable climate in California 
where he died soon after arriving there. 

NeAvton Morgan, a descendant of Miles Morgan, one of the 
early settlers of Springfield, was born in West Springfield, Octo- 
ber 25, 1840. His early life was the common one of the farmer's 
boy of that period. His education was acquired in the common 
and select schools and at the age of seventeen years, terminated 
in a few terms at what Avas then known as the ' ' new ' ' academy at 
Westfield, Mass. Thinking for some time of choosing "mechan- 
ics" as an avocation, the winter of 1858 was spent with Milton 
Bradley, Avho then had a draughting school in this city. The 
plans, however, did not mature satisfactorily and later he decided 
to enter the ranks of dentistry. The matriculation for the study 

( 410 ) 



TEE DENTAL PROFESSION 

of this calling was on January 1, 1861, in the office of a well 
known dentist in Connecticut and later for a time in the office of 
Dr. C. S. Hurlbut, sr.. of this city. After a few years of prac- 
tice he entered the Philadelphia Dental college and graduated 
with the class of 1869. Since that time he has had a continuous 
practice in Springfield. On June 5, 1866, he became a member 
of the Connecticut Valley Dental society and from that time to 
the consolidation into the Northeastern he has been an interested 
worker in the offices of chairman of the executive committee, 
treasurer and president. He is now an honorary member of the 
Vermont state society and an active member of the Massachusetts, 
Valley District and Northeastern Dental societies. In the days 
of the New England Dental Journal, Dr. INIorgan did much to 
further the good work of the periodical. To the younger men 
he has been a source of inspiration and help in many ways and 
has always stood for the higher professional life. 

Jarius Searle Hurlbut was born in West Springfield, Janu- 
ary 5, 1842. At the age of ten years his parents moved to this 
city and he was graduated at the high school, under Ariel Parish, 
in 1860. He then -went into the dental office of his brother. 
Dr. C. S. Hurlbut, sr., with whom he was associated as student 
and partner until he entered the Philadelphia Dental college, 
from which he was duly graduated in the class of '65. He went 
west to begin practice ; but, after spending a year in St. Paul, 
Minn., he returned to Springfield. On June 5, 1866, he joined 
the Connecticut Valley Dental society and served it in the capac- 
ity of an executive officer and president. He is a member of the 
Valley District and the Massachusetts Dental societies, serving 
the last as president, orator, and a member of the executive com- 
mittee. He also is a member of the Northeastern Dental associa- 
tion, the American academy of dental science, the National Den- 
tal association and the Odontological society of New York city. 
On the passage of the state dental law in 1887 he was appointed 
by Governor Ames a member of the board of registration and 
from 1891 to 1895 he served as its president. He has also been 
president of the American Association of Dental examiners. In 
1893 he was a member of the International Dental congress. 

( 411 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Chester Twichell Stockwell was born in Royalston, jMass., 
Sept. 5, 1841. He attended the common and high schools of 
Royalston and Winehendon, and later graduated from Eastman's 
Business college of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He engaged in com- 
mercial pursuits in 1863-6 in Worcester and North Carolina. In 
1867-8 he studied medicine with Dr. Saunders of Fitchburg and 
afterward matriculated at one of the Philadelphia colleges. How- 
ever, he soon left and went to Des INIoines. Iowa, where for two 
years he served on the staff of the Iowa State Register and other 
newspapers while in the west. Studied dentistry with J. Todd, 
M. D., and was associated in practice with Dr. James AYatts. In 
1872-5 he was in practice for himself and soon built up an ex- 
tensive clientele. Yliile at Des ^loines he was for two years 
secretary of the Iowa Central Dental society. His health fail- 
ing, he was compelled to give up practice and seek a more favor- 
able climate in Denver, Colorado. After a short sojourn there 
he came to Springfield in 1875 and for the first year thereafter he 
was associated with Dr. Lester Noble, and for the following three 
years with Dr. J. Searle Hurlbut. He then went into practice 
for himself, first in Bill's block, then in Dickinson's block and 
still later in the Republican block, his present location. He 
early joined the Connecticut Yalley society and served on the 
executive committee, as secretary for four years and as president 
in 1879-80. He is an ex-member of the American Academy of 
Dental science and of the American Dental association. He is 
an active member of the Massachusetts, Yalley District and 
Northeastern Dental societies, an honorary member of the 
Odontological society of New York city, a corresponding member 
of the Brooklyn Ethical association and an active member of the 
Springfield Literary club. 

A history of dentistry in Hampden county would indeed be 
incomplete without some reference to events and circumstances 
which have had a part in its progress and prosperity. The or- 
ganization of the Connecticut Yalley Dental society deserves 
more than passing notice. A few of the dentists of AYestern New 
England, feeling the need of associative effort for the promotion 
of the interests of dental science, assembled at the Massasoit 

( 412 ) 



THE DEXTAL PROFESSION 

house on the evening of November 10, 18(53, and formed the 
society. A constitution and by-laws was adopted and the follow- 
ing persons residing in Hampden county signed the roll : Drs. 
F. Searle, N. E. Ames, P. H. Derby and C. S. Hurlbut of Spring- 
field ; H. M. Miller of Westfield, Henry "Wheeler of Holyoke, and 
A. B. Cowan of Palmer. Dr. Searle was elected president, Dr. 
Miller, treasurer and Dr. Hurlbut member of the executive com- 
mittee. Annual meetings (often more frequently) were held 
until 1894, when in company with the New England Dental so- 
ciety the organization was merged into the Northeastern Dental 
association. The formation of the society in 1863 was the begin- 
ning of the professional association and advancement in this 
region. Non-membership in the society was considered a lack 
in some of the essentials of professional cpialification. Its honor- 
able records attest to its inestimable worth. The formation of a 
study club in the early eighties under the guidance of Prof. 
Mayr and the founding of the New England Journal of Dent- 
istry in Springfield in 1882 with Dr. C. T. Stockwell as editor, 
were two more events worthy of mention. Prof. Mayr was a 
master of chemistry and bacteriology and soon made a name for 
himself in the world of dental science. He is still living and 
one of Chicago's most noted chemists. Another event which 
aided in the advancement of the profession was the formation of 
the Connecticut Valley Dental depot in this city in 1839. In 
that year J. C. Parsons (late paper manufacturer of Holyoke) 
sold out his drug store (located opposite court square) to C. L. 
Covin. E. Biglow bought Mr. Covill out in 1845, and in 1860 
William M. Williams came there to work. He served two years 
as clerk and five years as a member of the firm. In 1867 Mr. 
AYilliams sold out his interest in the drug store and 
buying the dental and surgical department moved it up- 
stairs, where it has since been located. The worth and 
convenience of a good dental depot can only be appre- 
ciated by one in active practice. We have ahvays been 
specially favored and assisted in our efl'orts by Mr. Williams 
and his assistant, the late Jesse Hosmer. For years this was the 
only supply house in New England outside of Boston. From 

( 413 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

1845 to 1855 we had a second supply house in the drug store of 
B. K. Bliss, Avhich stood on the corner of Bliss and Main streets. 
In May, 1864, the ]\Iassachusetts Dental society was formed 
at Boston, Mass., and incorporated in April, 1865. Dr. N. C. 
Keep, formerly of Longmeadow, was its second president serving 
in 1864-65-66. Dr. J. Seai'le Hurlbut of Springfield was the 
eighth president in 1874; Dr. Flavius Searle of Springfield the 
sixteenth in 1882 : Dr. George A. Maxfield of Holyoke the twenty- 
eighth in 1895. To further help the good work of the state so- 
ciety it Avas decided to divide the state into five districts 
and the Valley District was formed at Springfield, Jan. 21, 1895. 
The state society has an annual meeting the first week in June, 
while the district meets the third INIonday of September, October, 
November, December, January, February, March, April and 
May. A chairman is selected at each meeting of the district to 
preside for that meeting. Dr. Andrew J. Flanagan of Spring- 
field has been secretary from the formation. Dr. C. S. Hurlbut. 
jr., of Springfield has been treasurer for the last three years. Drs. 
D. Hurlbut Allis, H. C. Medcraft of Springfield and Eliot T. 
Dickinson of Northampton, the present executive committee. 
The following are members of both the Massachusetts and Valley 
District societies. Drs. Stockwell, J. Searle Hurlbut, Morgan, 
Allis, Bugbee, Baldwin, Swazey, Medcraft, Wiley, Leitch, Boyn- 
ton, MacDonald, Smith, Andrews, C. S. Hurlbut, jr., J. W. Shaw, 
D. C. Shaw and Flanagan of Springfield and Noble of Long- 
meadow; Shaw, Saunders and INIiller of Westfield ; Porter of 
Chicopee ; Miles of Chicopee Falls ; Koche of Palmer ; Soule of 
Monson; Maxfield, Mitivier, O'Donnell, Hastings, O'Rielly, Bart- 
lett and Scolley of Holyoke. It may be stated that the members 
of these societies have a "code of ethics," and stand for intelli- 
gent, conservative and higher professional life. Men who stand 
for such are always eligible for membership, while those outside 
these requirements are never enrolled. When a practitioner of 
dentistry is not a member of his state and district society the pub- 
lic can look on him with suspicion as regards professional stand- 
ing. What is known as the "code of ethics" always has been 
the only true guide for the profession in its dealings and asso- 
ciations with the public. 

( 414 ) 



THE DENTAL PROFESSION 

In the early eighties the IMassachiisetts. Connecticut Valley 
and New England Dental societies deemed it advisable to have 
laws regulating the practice of dentistry and started plans in 
various ways to bring this about. In 1887 the law was passed 
and went into force. It was amended in 1900. The Massa- 
chusetts board of registration in dentistry consists of five mem- 
bers appointed by the governor, and we are happy to state that 
it has always been free from bias and politics and ranks the equal 
of any. The state examinations have done much to elevate the 
standard of dentistry and words of appreciation— from the 
advanced minds in the profession— have been freely showered 
on the various examiners. The law has marked a distinct epoch 
in the history of dentistry in Massachusetts. 

The good work being accomplished by dentistry along cer- 
tain lines has been recognized by our hospitals, and we find Dr. 
J. Searle Hurlbut the dental surgeon on the staff of the Spring- 
field hospital and Drs. P. J. MacDonald and Andrew J. Flana- 
gan, dental surgeons on the staff of the Mercy hospital in Spring- 
field. 

The compilation of this chapter devoted to dentistry has 
been a matter of many hours of research and the following out 
of many jjoints and hints. It has seemed to me that one older 
in dentistry should have undertaken the task. This not being 
practical, the writer took the matter up through respect and love 
for his profession — and by the wish of many of our local society 
members. It has indeed seemed strange to me that dentistry 
was not recognized as of sufficient importance in 1886 to have a 
history written at the 250th anniversai-y of Springfield. 

There may be errors— but they are those of an honest en- 
deavor—and as such should be excused. It indeed would be 
unjust if due credit were not given to Dr. C. T. Stockwell for the 
use of many notes and facts he had prepared for the Columbian 
Dental congress: to Drs. Newton Morgan, C. S. Hulburt, sr., 
Jesse Porter, Lester Noble, H. 0. Hastings, TI. M. Miller, all of our 
local society, and Levi C. Taylor, James and Charles INIcManus of 
the Connecticut Dental society, for manuscripts, ideas and 

( 415 ) 



OLR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

letters. To the Springfield Republican, Homestead, and City 
library for the use of local historical facts gained from 
papers, manuscripts and books ; to William M. AVilliams of our 
local dental depot, and to the records of the Connecticut Valley, 
Massachusetts, Northeastern and Valley District Dental societies. 



CHAPTER XXI 



THE PRESS OF HAMPDEN COUNTY— ITS HISTORY AND 
DEVELOPMENT 

WRITTEN AND ARRANGED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF L. N. CLARK, EDITOR 
OF THE WESTFIELD TIMES AND NEWS LETTER 

Hampden county is old in years, and in its history has wit- 
nessed the birth, more or less brief existence, and final issue of 
many an ambitious paper. The newspaper graveyard of the 
county is filled with young hopefuls, started to cut a figure in 
town, county and the nation, but from a variety of causes^ 
notably the lack of money, they wavered, struggled and sank in 
despair. Then there are the hundreds of more or less pretentious 
publications that have been issued by societies, schools, and 
benevolent organizations, which may properly be noticed in the 
discussion of the press of the county. And it may be gathered 
from the history of the newspaper life of this, as well as of other 
sections, that the ability to make a money-making affair of a 
paper is by no means the gift of every man, and is beyond ques- 
tion often as severe a test as could be imposed by any line of 
trade or profession. It is a survival of the fittest, and of these 
there is room for but a few. Fully a dozen of the towns of 
Hampden county have no newspaper of local production. Some 
of the publishers in the larger towns issue editions bearing head- 
ings adapted to some of the aforesaid small places, but they are 
merely special editions. Many attempts have been made to sup- 
ply ''long-felt wants" in some of the smaller places, but usually 

( 416 ) 



THE PRESS 

Avith very brief periods of actual existence. Thus, in towns like 
Blandford, Granville, Soiithwiek or Longraeadow, where each of 
the important city papers have paid correspondents, such papers 
give the inhabitants all that could be desired or expected in the 
Avay of local and general news; and the venturesome spirit, who 
fancies he sees fame and fortune in publishing a paper in a farm- 
ing community, may try the experiment only to be rudely 
awakened from a dream. Not that there is not news created in 
the smaller places, but the conditions are such that the village 
must be content to read its items under its village name in the 
newspaper of the more populous town. 

The first newspapers of the county were produced slowly in 
all the processes, from the wetting down of the few humble quires 
of paper for the edition, through the type setting, to the laborious 
press work, and even in the delivery to subscribers, some of whom 
called for their papers at the office of publication, others at the 
post-office, and still others were served by carrier boys. The 
stage coach was the mode of communication between the towns 
of the county, for many years, and it was considered proper to 
accept as a "news" paper one that had been off the press several 
days. With the advent of the railroads that have traversed the 
county in all directions, distribution became a matter of better 
system, and our city dailies now reach their readers, local, and 
in suburban towns in a very short time after leaving the press. 
The bulletin feature is made the most of, and one gets a fore- 
taste of the news at the door of all enterprising news stands 
throughout this territory. With the advent, too, of the Western 
railroad, news gathering began to be somewhat systematized, and 
the items obtained from the trainmen, and brought in from up 
and down the line, were important factors. Previous to this, 
the scissors and paste-pot were mightier than the pen, and long- 
winded articles, mostly reprint on general matters, temperance, 
religion, etc., were the rule, Avith a marked absence of the pithy 
items and brief paragraphs that are the life of modern journals. 

An important duty devolving upon historical societies and 
individuals is the careful preservation of the files that have been 
handed down to us by the earlier newspaper publishers, for 



27-1 



( 417 ) 



OLE COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

therein as nowhere else may be found the real and detailed his- 
tory of their period of publication, the facts at first hands ; and 
with the destruction of such files dies invaluable historical ma- 
terial—impossible to replace— the work of pens long since laid 
aside. 

And none the less carefully should be guarded the time- 
honored and faithful mechanical equipments or such remnants 
as may be available. Theirs has been a noble mission, well car- 
ried out— to enlighten the world, to stimulate thought, to spread 
education— in short, to civilize and Christianize. These tools, 
among the most worthy of any in the arts and crafts of men, are 
worthy of unstinted room in whatever storehouse of treasures 
historical the country may contain. Of the graphic features of 
the press of Hampden county, it may be said that they are of 
comparatively recent introduction. The "process" engravings 
have opened a new field in newspaper illustration, which is not 
ignored by the progressive publishers of the county, and the pub- 
lic itself actually demands "pictures." The early files show 
nothing in the way of cuts, save occasionally a state seal or spread 
eagle worked in as part of the heading. Even the advertise- 
ments, apart from an occasional small cut of a runaway boy, or 
the stereotyped frame house set into every notice of real estate 
for sale, were in plain type and unadorned. Gradually, how- 
ever, the publishers and their clients learned that pictures 
speak a universal language, and that a good illustration will in 
itself tell, at a glance, a story beyond the power of columns of 
type to tell, and forthwith gave cuts their proper place. On occa- 
sion, a news item or story may now be fully pictured, put into the 
forms, printed, and find its way into the reader's hands in an 
liour from the event. 

THE PRESS OP SPRINGFIELD 

The first paper published in the county was the Massachu- 
setts Gazette, or the General Advertiser in Springfield, in May, 
1782. Babcock & Haswell were the proprietors, theirs being also 
the first printing office established in the city. As was the cus- 
tom with newspapers of the early days, the heading was followed 

( 418 ) 



THE PRESS 

by a motto, readinii', in their case, as follows: " 'Tis not in mor- 
tals to command success, but we'll do more— we'll deserve it." 

In 1784, two years after the starting of the paper, the firm 
dissolved and both partners sought other fields, the office passing 
into the hands of Brooks & Russell. On the first of January, 
1785, the name of the Massachusetts Gazette was exchanged for 
the Hampshire Herald and Weekly Advertiser. A few months 
later Mr. Brooks withdrew from the firm, and in August, 1786, 
the Herald was controlled by a new company, Stebbins & Russell. 
The paper was permanently discontinued on the first of January, 
1787. 

llie Hampsliire Chroinele was commenced two months later 
by John Russell, the paper rising from the ruins of its predeces- 
sor. The spirit of the press was not destined to remain long 
dormant, and amid the hardships of early publishing and fre- 
quent suspensions, the editorial star of hope ever shone brightly, 
leading to new ventures. The office of the Hampshire Chronicle 
was located on Ferry street. Its equipment, like that of all the 
American printing offices of its time, was modest. The crude 
hand press, whose operation called for no mean degree of physical 
strength, and producing, at best, an impression none too clear; 
the modest assortment of Roman letter, more or less battered with 
use ; the primitive method of inking the forms by means of the 
large and unwieldy ink balls, were in vogue. The pioneer pub- 
lisher was a man of great versatility. He was a scholar-mechanic, 
a worker with brain and brawn, content, for small material com- 
pensation, to guide his fellow citizens in the way of right and keep 
them informed, as well as the slow means of communication 
allowed, of the world 's great events as well as of the country, 
state, and the town's growth and progress. In less than a year 
after its initial number was issued, the Chroniele passed into the 
hands of Weld & Thomas. Their printing office stood on the 
ground now occupied by the Chicopee bank near the south-east 
corner of Court square. The immediate vicinity was for many 
years the center of the town's printing industry. The popula- 
tion was small, and Main street, then a mere residence street, bor- 
dered with farms, and here and there a modest shop or store. 

( 419 ) 



OVR COUMY AND ITS PEOPLE 

In December, 1790, the Chronicle appeared, bearing the im- 
print of Mr. AVeld alone, and tAvo years later the name of the 
sheet was changed to the Harnpsliire and Berkshire Chronicle, 
and, as its name might imply, purporting to be the representative 
newspaper of the territory of Western Massachusetts. FoIIoav- 
ing the order of frequent changes, one year later, in 1793, the 
name of Edward Gray appeared as publisher. 

In 1793, the monopoh' of the newspaper field, long enjoyed 
by the Chronicle, was disturbed by the advent of the Federal Spy, 
which started with the new year, James E. Hutchins being the 
proprietor, he having grown up in the business under the guid- 
ance of a former local journalist, Isaiah Thomas. AVith the ad- 
vent of an "esteemed contemporar}-" in the field, the Chronicle 
weakened, and soon after died, its proprietor some time later eon- 
ducting a newspaper, the ''American Infelligencer," published 
over the river on the West Springfield side, which also expired 
at a tender age, after the many trials and tribulations peculiar 
to struggling young journalism. 

The founder of the Federal Spy left the town soon after the 
paper was started, being succeeded by Messrs. John Worthington 
Hooker and Francis Stebbins. In May, 1796, the firm dissolved, 
and Air. Stebbins continued as sole proprietor until September 
26, 1799, when he sold to Timothy Ashley, who stood at the helm 
and guided the journalistic craft safely into the new century. In 
1801, Mr. Henry Brewer was taken into partnership and two 
years later, became sole publisher, continuing until 1806, when 
he sold out to Air. Thomas Dickman, a native of Boston, and a 
man of considerable previous experience in the newspaper field. 
He at once changed the name of the paper from the Federal Spy 
to the Hampshire Federalist. Air. Dickman continued the paper 
until 1819, having been its proprietor continuously for some thir- 
teen years, a remarkable record for those days of frequent 
changes in the business. 

In this connection, it may not be amiss to take a passing look 
into the files of these earlj^ papers, and it may be suggested that 
of all the historical treasures of the country's towTis and cities, 
none is more worthy of jealous care and preservation than these 

( 420 ) 



THE PRESS 

same files, giving as they do, the only detailed history of local 
events available, and whose destruction would prove a most seri- 
ous and irreparable loss. And it is a source of much pain to the 
sincere historian to note the inadequate care given some of these 
files, none too numerous at best. 

Among other valuable material in the upper room of the 
Chicopee library were found files of the early Springfield papers, 
among them, yellowed by time, with frayed edges, and faded 
print, being the fruits of the labor of editor Dickman, the Hamp- 
shire Federalist. Regarded mechanically, one sees the evidences 
of the old-time process of wetting the paper and the resultant 
deep indentation of the types into the sheet when subjected to the 
pressure of the hand press. A small, modest sheet it is, though 
well up to the meagre mechanical facilities of its time. Like its 
contemporaries, the country over, most of its space was given to 
heralding events of foreign fields, by no means recent; and the 
"scoop" was no doubt an unknown term in the press parlance of 
the Federalist. Local events were touched upon occasionally. 
In the issue of Jan. 7, 1807, appears this : 

"Important Item: — On Friday last, the mail stage, in 
attempting to pass the Connecticut river on the ice, about 
a mile below the bridge in this town, broke through. As 
the sleigh, as well as the horses, Avere plunged in six feet 
of water, it may be considered a happy circumstance that 
there were but three passengers in it. They escaped their 
danger without injury by jumping on the ice. Had the 
stage been crowded with passengers, as is often the case, 
it would have been hardly possible for those seated in the 
back part of it to have saved their lives. The horses and 
sleigh were got out without injury, though not without 
great difficulty and risk. This breaking in happened at a 
small distance from the spot where the ice gave way and 
let in a cutter about three weeks ago, by which accident, a 
young woman was drowned." 
The paper gives an insight of the mercantile life of Spring- 
field, in the first decade of the nineteenth century. Byers & 
Bliss, dry goods merchants, give a list of the quaintly named fab- 

( 421 ) 



OVn COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

rics of the time— "SAvanskin, Baizes, Serges. Calimaneoes, 
Diirants, Bombazetts, Shaloons, Rose Blankets, Dimoties, Cam- 
brics, etc., also, Irish Linens, Chambray, Crapes, Belong, Sattin, 
Chintzes, and Callicoes. ' ' Groceries were also a part of the mer- 
chandise, the list leading off eonspicuonsly Avith— St. Croix Rum, 
French Brandy, Holland Gins, Sherry, Lisbon and Malaga 
Wines, and -winding up with the commonplace commodities of 
Lump and Brown Sugar, Tea, Coffee, Tobacco, Powder, Shot, 
Codfish, Pickled Salmon, 4d, 8d and lOd nails, etc. 

Warriner, Bontecou & Co. advertise Muffs and Tippets. 

The publisher of the Federalist, himself advertises for Cot- 
ton and Linen Rags in any quantity, which rags were in turn 
offered to the paper dealer, as part payment for the stock sup- 
plied to the printer. 

The Springfield Bookstore, "next door north of Justin Lom- 
bard's store," advertises Books on Divinity, Law, Physic, His- 
tory, Voyages, Travels, etc. 

Daniel Lombard, P. M., advertises list of letters uncalled for, 
said list including many of the names of Springfield's represent- 
ative families. 

The Federalist was evidently the accepted advertising 
medium of the western part of the state, as in its columns are 
found the "ads" of merchants and others in the various towns 
hereabouts. 

Farnam & Hastings of AYestfield advertise 80 barrels of 
cider brandy. 

The ]\Ionson Academy advertises for pupils from abi'oad, 
stating that board may be had in good families near the academy. 

Isaiah Thomas, Jr. 's Almanack for 1807 is offered for sale at 
the office of the Federalist. 

Wells & Bliss advertise Shoes. 

J. & H. Dwight advertise Lime per cask or bushel. 

Thomas Sargeant advertises Watches, Military Feathers, 
Sword Knots, Epaulets, Tassels, &c. 

Justin Ely, West Springfield, oft'ered for sale Geese 
Feathers. 

( 423 ) 



THE PRESS 

E. (Irant, AVestiield, advertises his Cabinet jNIaking estab- 
lishment, "100 rods east of the Meeting House." 

Koot & Brewster sold Garden Seeds. 

A. & P. Bartlett advertise INIilitarj' Gnns. ]\Iiiskets by the 
chest, dozen or single. 

Roswell Lombard advertises for any number of mink and 
eat skins— black, brindle and gray being the colors wanted. 

Silas Noble, Jr., of Blandford advertises that he has repaired 
his machines and is prepared to do AVool Carding, Oiling and 
Picking. 

The above are given as a part of the legitimate history of the 
press of this section, for it shows the general tone of the advertis- 
ing columns, admittedly, at all times, a most practical and impor- 
tant part in a newspaper's life. Besides these, there may be 
noted the calls on the part of various tradesmen for bright lads 
to become indentured; and occasionally a notice of "One Cent 
Reward" or "One Mill Reward" for the capture of runaway 
apprentices, one being spoken of, by way of identity, as, "17 
years old, black eyes, dark hair, and is very bold and saucy." 

It appears that lotteries, for the promotion of causes of more 
or less merit, were conducted early in the century, and the pro- 
prietor of the paper, Thomas Dickman, who, by the way, con- 
ducted a bookstore in connection with his newspaper, also sold 
lottery tickets in behalf of the Hatfield bridge. 

A more important lottery advertisement was that of the 
Harvard College Lottery, wdth 20,000 tickets at $5.00 each, giv- 
ing a list of graduated prizes, from one of $15,000 to 5,572 of 
$7.00 each. A paragraph of the ad reads : 

"The managers solicit the patronage of the public in general, 
and of the friends of literature and the University in particular; 
and considering the object of the lottery, anticipate their liberal 
assistance. It will be pleasant to reflect that by adventuring in 
this lottery, they Avill combine the prospect of gain with the cer- 
tainty of benefitting the University, and by lending their aid to 
the means of education, will promote the best interests of their 
country. ' ' 

The Federalist printed, under its heading, as a sort of 
declaration of principle : 

( 423 ) 



OLE COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE 

"What I know to be true, that I will declare— and what I 
feel it to be my duty to represent, that I will have the ))oldness 
to publish," 

In its typographical make up this paper followed the style 
of the time. Entire pages were set in type as large as pica ; long 
primer was considered small and brevier used in some of the no- 
tices, and probably regarded as the limit of minuteness in type. 
No uniformity was observed in choice of type, one class of matter 
being set in any size type that came handy. 

Publisher Dickman should not have suffered from a lack of 
good "copy" for his paper, for his active life was in the early 
years of the nineteenth century, when the world in both hemi- 
spheres was making history in abundance : and to his credit be it 
said, the opportunities were not slighted. 

Napoleon Bonaparte, in the Old World, was then exerting his 
wonderful power, and an item in the Federalist states : 

"A member of the American 'Legislation' at Paris is arrived 
in London and confirms the report we have heard that Bona- 
parte demands, peremptorily, tliat the American government 
shall hreak icith England or with France. He leaves no alter- 
native." 

Another item of the period states : 

"A French Paragraph : — The little King of the Romans is 
cutting a tooth ! His gums are without inflammation, and the 
joy of the Parisians is beyond expression!!" 

In our own national affairs thrilling accounts are given of 
the Indian depredations in the then wild section, now knoAvn as 
the thickly-populated "Middle West." 

In the issue of June, 15, 1809, an editorial states:— "The 
manner in which Mr. Madison has commenced his presidential 
career, while it exhibits one strong point of resemblance to the 
commencement of that of Jefferson, may be contrasted with it 
much to the disadvantage of the latter." 

In the issue of June 9, 1814, is given an account of the attack 
on Oswego and the invasions and raids by the British in New 
York and along the Canadian frontier. 

March 9, 1815, the Federalist notes that the President will 
immediately propose to Congress to declare war against Algiers, 

( 424 ) 



THE PRESS 

The issue of March 16, 1815, contains the official report of 
Commodore Decatur to the Secretary of the Navy, regarding the 
work of our fleet in the naval engagements of the period. 

In 1819 Mr. Dickman sold his paper to Frederick A. Pack- 
ard, a lawyer, and soon after ]\Ir. Abraham G. Tannatt a printer 
from Boston became a partner in the concern, and the firm name 
was A. G. Tannatt & Co., the name of the paper being changed 
to the Hampden Federalist, to accommodate the change of county 
lines. 

In 1818 the Hampden Patriot came into existence at the 
hands of Dr. Ira Daniels. Politically the Patriot was opposed 
to the Federalist. About two years after its first issue, the 
Patriot passed into the hands of a company, with Justice Wil- 
lard, Esq.. as editor. In 1822 Mr. Tannatt left the Federal office 
and became proprietor of the Patriot, which was abandoned two 
years later, the material being added to the outfit of the Federal- 
ist, and Mr. Tannatt again casting his lot with that paper, and, 
becoming joint proprietor with JNIr. Packard. 

Available copies of the contemporary papers, the Federalist 
and the Patriot, show them to be identical in size and general 
make-up save in stjde of heading, the former having a most ornate 
letter of the Old English style for a title, while the Patriot's 
heading was set in a severely plain black-face Koman. 

The name of the Federalist was changed to the Hampden 
Jour)ial, as being a name more pleasing and more in keeping with 
the ideas of the publishers. 

On the first of January, 1829, Mr. Tannatt bought out Mr. 
Packard, and continued the Journal in his own name for six 
years, until January 1, 1835, when he relinquished the establish- 
ment to Mr. Packard. 

The Springfield Pepuhlican, which was established on the 
8th of September. 1824 by Samuel Bowles, who came to Spring- 
field from Hartford, proved to be a very active competitor of the 
Journal, that outgrowth of a long line of worthy journals gone 
before, and eventually, after losing its hold on the field so long 
enjoyed the Journal was bought by Mr. Bowles, and merged mth 
the Republican, the combined issue being styled the Bepuhlican 
■and Journal. 

( 425 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

The mechanical equipment of the printing offices of the 
county, about this time, began to be improved. The inking 
roller, that very simple device, which alone revolutionized the art 
of printing, and made machine presses possible, was introduced, 
it is said, by Mr. Bowles, and the cumbersome and filthy ink balls, 
relics of the very days of Gutenberg, the father of printing, were 
laid aside. 

On the 24th of February, 1830, John B. Eldridge, com- 
menced the publication of the Hampden ^Miig, a paper which 
supported the administration of General Jackson. Five 
years later Mr. Eldridge sold his establishment to E. 




TliL' lii'bt liuini.' ut' the Springlield KepubliCiiu 

D. Beach, a lawyer, who became editor as well as pro- 
prietor. Some time after, David F. Ashley, a printer connected 
with the office, became a partner, and the name of the paper hav- 
ing been changed to the Hampden Post, the firm was known as 
D. F. Ashley & Co., until July 1, 1843, Avhen the establishment 
was purchased by Alanson Hawley. 

On the 26th of May, 1841, Apollos Munn. a printer reared in 
the offices of Springfield, and a man of much ability and activity, 
commenced the publication of the Independent Democrat. The 

( 426 ) 



THE PBESS 

paper had its headquarters ou the Hill, away from the accepted 
center of printing, about Court square, but about two years later 
having been sold to a Dr. Ashley, the establishment was moved 
down to Elm sti'cet. under the hospitable shade of the Court 
square elms, where about a year later it was merged in the Hamp- 
den Post. 

INIr. Munn, the founder of the Independent Democrat, after 
an absence from Springtield of about two years, returned and 
started a new paper which he called the Hampden Statesman, 
which, about two years later, was merged in the Hampden Post, 
]\Ir. Munn being retained as one of the staff of the paper. 

In September, 1831, the Springfield Gazette was commenced 
by Callender, Kirkham & Briggs, with William Hyde, a lawyer, 
as editor. The Gazette was devoted to the interests of education, 
missions and temperance, and not given to politics. Later the 
Gazette was changed to a Whig newspaper, and one year from 
its establishment, by a change in the firm, Mr. Briggs and Josiah 
Hooker, a lawyer, bought out Callender and Kirkham, and con- 
tinued as joint publishers. In 1837, Josiah Taylor, a printer, 
bought out Messrs. Hooker and Briggs and became publisher, 
three years later being succeeded by William Stowe, who contin- 
ued as editor and proprietor, until the paper was merged in the 
Repuhlican, in whose bosom, it would appear, many papers found 
a final refuge after the strenuous buffeting on the sea of journal- 
ism, guided by various pilots. 

The Hampden Intelligencer was commenced in August, 1831, 
by J. B. Clapp, and was discontinued after an existence of about 
a year. It was anti-Masonic in its policy. 

In January, 1842, Mr. Tannatt, the former publisher of the 
Journal, started a temperance paper, the Hampden Washing- 
tonian. This was continued for six years, when it expired for 
want of support. A reference to the files shows the general 
make up to be similar to Mr. Tannatt 's earlier publications. The 
Wasliingtonian carried a fair quantity of advertising, its moral 
tone was high, and in every way reflected credit on its editor and 
on the journalism of Springfield. 

The good name, '^'Hampden" seems to have borne special 
charm for the earlier publishers of the county, and to use a 

( 427 ) 



Oi'R COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE 

familiar typographical phrase, was "kept standing" most of the 
time. 

Professional men seem to have been attracted to the field of 
journalism at the county seat, and doctors, lawyers, school mas- 
ters and the clergy have found time to wield the pen in moulding 
thought and shaping the action of their times. 

On the 1st of January, 1847, the Bay State Weekly Courier 
was commenced by Dr. J. G. Holland. The paper lived for 
about six months, its editor becoming a very valuable addition to 
the statf of the Republican. 

In 18-47. The Springfield Sentinel, the outgrowth of a former 
Palmer paper, was started, it being both weekly and semi-weekly. 
After a period of shifting policy and ownership the Sentinel was 
discontinued, and its interests sold to out-of-town parties. 

THE DAILY REPUBLICAN 

The Springfield Daily Eepnhlican, the first daily not only of 
the city, but of the state, outside of Boston, was started on the 
first of April, 1844, under discouraging circumstances, and its 
first years of existence were those of rowing against the tide, but 
success came in time, and the EepuhUcan stands to-day, a jour- 
nal w^orld-famous and of marked prosperity. For the first year 
and a half of its existence, it was an evening paper, but was 
changed to a morning issue, in 1845, and the following year w^as 
enlarged ; and successive enlargements followed, until on the 1st 
of July, 1851, it attained to seven columns to the page. 

In April, 1846, a daily evening paper, the Gazette, was 
started, as a competitor to the Kepuljlican. Two years later, it 
was absorbed by the latter paper. 

In 1850, Samuel Bowles. Jr., became associated with his 
father, in the ownership of the Republican, which owed much to 
his faithful work in the editorial management. In May, 1849, 
J. G. Holland became associate editor of the Republican, becom- 
ing later a partner in the establishment, which adopted the firm 
title of Samuel Bowles & Co. On the 8th of September, 1851, 
the elder Bowles died, and his interests in the concern were 
largely purchased by Clark W. Bryan, formerly of the Great 
Barrington Courier. 

( 428 ) 



1 


^Tl 


^ 


1 




i 1 


Bi^H 







Samuel Bowles 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

The Ixepublkan's policy of thoroughly covering its field, 
which includes Western and Central New England, employing 
the best reportorial talent, and editors of recognized ability, has 
resulted in a large and well established circulation, resulting in 
a liberal advertising patronage, the tAvo great factors much de- 
sired and none the less necessary to publishers. The literary 
and art departments are in charge of Mr. Charles G. Whiting, 
while Mr. Solomon B. Griffin is editor-in-chief and is surrounded 
by an efficient army of workers, all bending their best energies 
towards producing a perfect newspaper. Mr. Samuel Bowles, 
the efficient business manager, keeps his hand on the lever, and 
an ever watchful eye on the details of one of the best regulated 
and most systematically conducted newspaper establishments in 
New England. Every department is run with accuracy and 
clock-like precision. 

In February, 1855, the weekly edition was enlarged, and 
changed to a quarto form. The Weekly is a carefully edited 
summary of the news, gleaned from the daily editions, and also 
enjoys a wide circulation. The Kepublican has, on two or three 
occasions, in recent years, in issuing anniversary editions of the 
weekly and daily forms of the paper, given to its readers well 
written and exhaustive historical sketches of its career, having of 
course, available a rich fund of material of undoubted authority, 
and liberal in quantity. In these, we find interwoven the career 
of Springfield's grand self-made man, the elder Samuel Bowles, 
founder and maker of the RepuWcan, with the story of his 
earlier life in Connecticut, the incident that called him to Spring- 
field, to introduce another young man to fill a want in the news- 
paper field there, and how, unexpectedly, the task fell to himself. 
And from that day, September 8, 1824. when the first number 
of the EepiiUican appeared, through all the succeeding years 
to the present time, its pages have recorded fully and fearlessly 
the events of the city, county, and of New England generally, and 
in a way that makes its files, wherever they may be stored, the 
most complete and valuable history of this section extant. News- 
papers have come and gone, rivalry has developed, attacks have 
been, and are being made, on this journalistic citadel of Hampden 

( 430 ) 




Dr. Josiah Gilbert Holland 



01- R COUMY AND ITS PEOPLE 

county, but it has always stood the attacks, and stands firm, and 
there is a certain "tone" in every department of the paper, not 
to mention the evident completeness of its agencies of production, 
that win for it the attention and consideration of all, and where 
is there a town in Western New England that does not have ob- 
tainable at its news stands, the famous "Hampden County 
Bible?" 

An effort to establish a Democratic daily was made in 1856, 
when Elon Comstock came to the city, and, with ample backing, 
opened a well-equipped office on Sanford street, and the Spring- 
field Daily Argus started, but through inattention on the part 
of the managers, it died about a year afterwards. Between the 
years 1853-72, a large general printing business was conducted 
at the Republican office. In 1872 Mr. Bowles sold out the gen- 
eral printing department to his partners, Messrs. Bryan and 
Tapley, and himself retained the Republican. In 1878 the 
Repuhlican occupied tlie present quarters at the corner of Main. 
street and Harrison avenue. The equipment of the paper is 
very complete for quick and thorough work, and no sooner is a 
piece of machinery perfected, that facilitates the production of 
a newspaper, than it is adopted and installed. 

Going back to 1846, we find the Post, formerly conducted 
by ]Mr. Hawley and sold by him to D. F. Ashley, changed to a 
tri-weekly. On the 1st of June, 1848, Mr. Ashley changed the 
paper from a tri-weekly to a daily with "William L. Smith as 
editor. The Post was "published every morning (except Sun- 
day) in Byers' building, four doors west of the Post-Office, 3d 
story, at $3.00 per annum, ' ' making it practically a penny daily. 
Mr. William Trench leased the office of the Post on the 1st of 
August, 1851, taking as partner Henry W. Dwight of Stock- 
bridge. The latter retired at the end of 8 months, and Mr, 
Trench relinquished his lease on the 1st of February, 1853. Mr. 
Ashley again came in possession ; and the following year both the 
daily and weekly editions of the Post were discontinued. Mr, 
Ashley still lives on Spring street, a short distance from State 
street, Springfield, and among his attic treasures are the files of 
the papers, turned out by him a half-century ago. There are 

( 432 ) 



THE PEESS 

also galleys of type, partly reduced to "pi," and in a remote 
corner a complete form of the newspaper, with here and there 
an empty chase and the old-fashioned wooden quoins. At one 
time these relics were threatened with destruction by fire, the 
edges of the files showing the signs of a severe scorching, and it 
would seem that while the opportunity offers, these remnants of 
Springfield's early daily paper, should be safely housed and 
treasured for their historic value. 

The Connecticut Valley Feirmer was started in JNIay, 1853, 
under the auspices of the Hampden Agricultural Society. The 
paper was printed and published by Samuel Bowles «fc Co., at the 
Republican office. The editor was Hon. AA^illiam B. Calhoun. 
It was a monthly, at 50 cents a year. January 1st, 1855, it was 
removed to Amherst, where Prof. Nash became editor and pub- 
lisher, 

Abraham Tannatt, Jr., a veteran printer, who with his 
brother, J. F. Tannatt, grew up in the business, following in the 
footsteps of their father, one of the pioneer printers of Spring- 
field, still retains a small printing office at the corner of Main 
and Elm streets, over the Chicopee bank, occupying the site of 
the former office of the Republican, on which paper he w^orked 
at the time. Looking out upon Court Square, and up busy 
Main street, with its rush of traffic, and hurrying pedestrians, 
My. Tannatt recalls the same street, when but a mere country 
road, bordered with farms, and many of the houses antedating 
the Revolution. 

The brothers Tannatt and j\Ir. Ashley, already referred to, 
are among the very few men living in this section whose mem- 
ories go back to the practical use of the crude hand press and 
ink-ball outfits. They have seen the development of the press of 
the city and county, from its earliest days, both in the editorial 
and mechanical sense, with the wonderful improvements that 
competition and journalistic rivalry have brought about. Con- 
trast the newsgathering methods of the good old days of the 
Hampshire Federalist and its immediate predecessors and succes- 
sors with those in practice by the Repnhlican, Union and Daily 
Neu'S. Then the "news" was acceptable when three months old; 



28-1 



( 433 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

now. events are themselves hard pressed by the active pencil of 
the reporter, and the electric spark flashes the news momentarily 
to the editor's desk. Then the editor's profession was of the 
easy-going sort, as were most of the industries of the time ; but 
to-day the cry is "make haste!" "score a scoop!" "give uis 
young blood!" "away with the old!" and, above all, "get the 
news on the street first!" In the Tannatt office, noAV devoted 
solely to job work, there are to be seen specimens of the early job 
work of the city, in themselves valuable, as showing the business 
life of the early days and in the form of programs, etc., showing 
the names of the social element of the time. This office is a con- 
necting link between the typographical past and present, and as 
every bred-in-the-bone printer loves the odor of printing ink and 
paper, Mr. Tannatt, though by no means obliged to "stick to the 
case," prefers his cosy little office to the most elaborate modern 
club house, and here, among the friendly leaden dies that have 
voiced many a message, he passes the days congenially, meeting 
friends and discussing the old and the new. The grand old elms 
of Court Square were young when the first press was erected 
close by their spreading branches, and for many years Elm street 
and the vicinity was the "Printing House Square," and has not 
yet fully outgrown tlie right to the title, though the spirit of the 
drama and the law and commerce have usurped the territory of 
the x)ress very largely. 

Mr. Tannatt, in his reminiscences of the early printers of the 
county, states that $8.00 per week was considered exceptionally 
good wages, and that young active printers were glad to get $4.00 
per week. Their wages were usually well guarded, and out of 
their modest incomes many saved considerable sums. 

The elder Tannatt. whose work in connection with Spring- 
field journalism occupies such a prominent place, and who was a 
contemporary of the first Samuel Bowles, was highly esteemed, 
not only by those of his own craft, but by the connnunity gen- 
erally. AVhen the time came for him to lay aside the pen and 
composing stick forever, it was felt that a good man had depart- 
ed. In the Springfield BepuhUcon of May 23. 1863, we read: 

"The patriarch and father of Springfield journalism and 
printing is dead. Abraham G. Tannatt, our oldest editor and 

( 434 ) 



THE PRESS 

printer closed his life on Friday, at the age of 69. There are 
scarcely t^vo or three men left among us who have had, for so 
long and so prominently, a place in the social bnsiness and intel- 
lectual history and development of Springfield as INIr. Tannatt. 
AVe count them upon the fingers, and it is like cutting off a finger, 
indeed, to part with any one of them." 

Among the names more or less prominently connected with 
the press of Springfield in the earlier days may be mentioned: 
Babcock & Haswell, Brooks & Russell, Weld & Thomas, James R. 
Hutchins, John AVorthington Hooker, Francis Stebbins, Timothy 
Ashley, Henry Brewer, Thomas Dickman, Frederick A. Packard, 
A. G. Tannatt, Ira Daniels, Justice AVillard. Wood & Lyman, 
Samuel Bowles, John B. Eldridge, E. D. Beach. David F. Ashley. 
Alanson Hawley, Apollos Alunn, Elijah Ashley, George AV. Cal- 
lender, Henry Kii-kham. Lewis Briggs, AVilliam Hyde, Josiah 
Hooker, Josiah Taylor, AVilliam Stowe. J. B. Clapp, J. G. Hol- 
land, George AA". Alyrick, Samuel Bowles, jr., Clark AA". Bryan, 
AA^illiam Trench. Henry AA\ Dwight, AVilliam B. Brockett, Hon. 
AVilliam B. Calhoun. 

THE UXION 

The Sjjriiigfidd T')iio)t was founded by Edmund Anthony of 
New Bedford. January 4, 1864, and as a newspaper and expo- 
nent of Republican principles it ranks as one of the leading jour- 
nals of New England. It is owned by a stock company, under 
the name of the Springfield Union Publishing company, and four 
editions are issued, morning, evening, weekly and Sunday. The 
Union circulates extensively in western New England, where it 
is regarded as an able, progressive and interesting journal. Mr. 
Anthony conducted the paper until December, 1865, when it 
passed into the hands of the Union Printing company. During 
the next few years it changed owners several times, but in 1872, 
under the proprietorship of Lewis H. Taylor, it became a paying 
property. It was destined, however, to remain in Mr. Taylor's 
hands but a short time, for in 1872, the Clark AA". Bryan company 
purchased it and incorporated it with the firm's printing and 
binding business. AVilliam AI. Pomeroy was appointed editor. 

( 435 ) 




Clark W. Bryan 



T?IE Ph'ESS 

and he retained that position until March, 1881, when he was 
succeeded by Joseph L. Shipley. Mr. Shipley held the position 
of editor under the ownership of the Springfield Printing com- 
pany, which had succeeded the Clark W. Bryan company until 
May, 1882, when he bought the property and transferred it to a 
stock company, maintaining a' majority interest, and assuming 
the responsible management of the paper. 

In April, 1890, the Union entered upon a new epoch. It 
was purchased by the Springfield Union Publishing company, 
and Albert P. Langtry, who had received a valuable training in 
the school of metropolitan journalism, was installed as business 
manager. Soon after he was made publisher, with John D. 
Plummer as business manager. Until 1892, the Union had pub- 
lished only an evening and weekly edition, but July 2 of that 
year a morning edition was started, and achieved an instant suc- 
cess. It supplied the popular demand for a clean, newsy morn- 
ing Kepublican newspaper, that had at heart the business and 
political interests of western New England. The Sunday Union 
was established in July, 1894, chiefly as a newspaper, and with 
but little attention paid to magazine features. Its growth, how- 
ever, has been in keeping with that of the other editions of the 
Union, and it furnishes besides the news of the world and its own 
particular field, an imposing array of special articles, profusely 
illustrated. The Union is a member of the Associated Press. It 
employs in its editorial department twenty-five men, and its 
mechanical facilities are surpassed, in point of equipment, by but 
few newspapers. 

The Union's first office of publication was located in the rear 
of the Haynes Hotel block, and later was moved to the corner of 
Main and Taylor streets, in the building now known as the City 
Hotel. From there it was moved to the site of the present Hotel 
Worthy, and later occupied the building on the opposite corner, 
where, in 1888, occurred the disastrous and fatal fire, wherein 
several of the employes lost their lives. After being repaired, 
the building was occupied for a time, until the move was made 
to the present quarters, a short distance down the street. 

Mr. Elijah Newell, the present city clerk of Springfield, was 
on the staff of the Union nearly twenty-one years, and was active 

( 437 ) 



OVR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE 

in the development of the paper. Among the more important of 
the stirring events, during that time, in which INIr. Newell per- 
formed efficient reportorial work, may be mentioned the jNIill 
River disaster, the famous Northampton bank robbery, the burn- 
ing of the French Catholic church in Holyoke, and, notably, the 
big fire in the heart of Springfield's business district, which oc- 
curred in 1875, destroying forty-two buildings. Two companies 
of the militia were called out, to assist the police in guarding 
property, and fire companies came from many surrounding 
places, including companies from as far away as Boston. The 
fire started at 2 p. m. and was not under control until 6 o'clock, 
and in the meantime the Union had prepared its report, illustrat- 
ed with a map of the burned district, and had their paper in the 
form of an extra, on the street, at 6 o'clock. 

There is at present employed in the pressroom of the Union 
a pressman who came to the office when the paper was started by 
the founder. Mr. Edmund Anthony. 

A feature of the Sunday T''^nion is the liberal and well ar- 
ranged matter from the various towns hereabout, prepared by 
several home correspondents. The illustrated features are all 
that could be desired, and are on a par with those of the best 
metropolitan journals. The Union, unlike most papers, observes 
certain holidays in the year, when no issue is brought out. 

THE DAILY NEWS 

On February "i-lth, 1880, the public of Hampden county 
heard for the first time on their streets the cry, '^Poiny News!" 
A new paper had entered the field, with its ambitions, aspirations 
and promises, and Springfield was to be its home. For a few 
weeks the Poinij Nen-s appeared as a tri-weekly ; but as it is a 
very short step from the tri-weekly to the daily, the latter form 
was soon adopted, and on May 13th, 1880, the paper came out as 
a daily, and with the word "Daily" substituted for ''Penny," 
though the price remained unchanged. It was probably the first 
penny paper ever published in the county, and the novelty of the 
price won it a wide circulation. Edward and Charles J. Bellamy 
were the publishers, both men of more than ordinary literary 

( 438 ) 



THE PEESS 

ability, and the foinier, for some eight years previous one of the 
editors of the Union. The first few years of the Daily News were 
strenuous and the publishers found that the life of a practical 
newspaper man is one by no means a bed of roses. Three years 
after the birth of their own paper, another small daily, the 
Democnit, came to tempt fate, and to solicit slices from the none 
too ample loaf of journalistic patronage offered by the field, but 
after two and a half years the Democrat joined the legions that 
have gone before, and the Daily Neics, still kept up the race. 
Edward Bellamy, who is known the world over by his books on 
socialistic and industrial topics, left the paper soon after, and his 
brother, Charles J., guided its destinies single-handed, but with 
marked ability, and gathering about him a staff of energetic and 
intelligent young newspaper workers, put the paper on a sound 
basis, realizing at length the reward of good management and 
tenacity of purpose. In 1894 the publisher realized the fond 
ambition of the newspaper proprietor, and saw his equipinent, 
thoroughly modern and of the best, housed in a building bearing 
the paper's name, and the property of the concern itself. On 
June 26th, 1901, the Daily News issued a supplement, in book 
form, giving a history of its own conception, trials, growth and 
triumphs, and detailing the growth of the city and its interests, 
in the twenty-one years of the x^aper's life, and taking to itself, 
with due modesty, a share of credit for the reforms that have 
been worked in the city's public affairs, in the two decades men- 
tioned. For a newspaper is always a tireless worker in the causes 
that tend to the general good, and though often called upon to 
stand the rebuffs and ingratitude of opposers and doubters, has a 
reward in the final triumph and vindication of its policy. 

THE HOMESTEAD 

The Springfield Homestead, a weekly illustrated paper of 
local life, with suburban departments, fills the graphic needs of 
journalism in the county, as perhaps no other publication does. 
It is the outgrowth of the older-established Neiv England Home- 
stead, an agricultural paper regularly published from the same 
office. Both the Springfield edition, and its agricultural progen- 

{ 439 ) 




Henry M. Burt 



THE PRESS 

itor are ably edited, and enjoy large circulations and are influen- 
tial in their respective fields. The Neiv E^iglmid Homestead was 
founded in 1867 as a monthly, by Henry M. Burt, having been 
started in Northampton, but soon after removed to Springfield. 
Mr. Burt continued the publication for some ten years, in the 
meantime engaging in other local journalistic ventures, when the 
paper Avas bought by Messrs. Phelps and Sanderson, former 
employes of the Union, Mr. Sanderson's interest being later 
bought by Mr. Phelps, who established a corporation known as 
the Phelps Publishing company. Favm and Home, a sixteen- 
page monthly, was begun in 1880, by this company, and attained 
a wide circulation, national in extent. Other powerful agricul- 
tural journals have been acquired by the Phelps Publishing com- 
pany, including the Orange Judd Fanner and American Agri- 
cidturalist, which combined have an immense circulation, con- 
stituting a large portion of the output of mail matter from the 
local post-office. A large force is employed in the mechanical and 
circulating departments, and the office on "Worthington street is 
a veritable hive of industry. The company operates its own job 
printing department, for the production of the vast amount of 
forms and miscellaneous small printing, incident to their pub- 
lishing business. 

Good Housekeeping, a magazine of domestic science, former- 
ly published by the Clark W. Bryan company, is also produced 
at the above office, and is widely known, and ranks with the 
country's best magazines. Equipped with linotypes and rotary 
presses, and other equipment in keeping, the Phelps Publishing 
company's plant may be pointed out as a typographical object 
lesson. 

The Daily Democrat was founded in 1883, to fill the demand 
of local party men for a Democratic paper. Many prominent 
Democrats of western Massachusetts were included among its 
stockholders. It was a one cent paper, and very active ii\ its 
field, but was discontinued after two and a half years. 

The Herald of Life started in 1872, with Rev. W. N. Pile as 
editor. It was the organ of a branch of the Advent faith. 

At the Evangelist building, on State street, Springfield, issue 
several publications of a religious nature. In 1879, S. G. Otis 

( 441 ) 



OVli COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

started the Domestic Jounud, and made one of the most thorough 
canvasses ever made of central and western Massachusetts, start- 
ing out with the avoAved intention of calling at every house and 
place of business, securing, as a result, in the neighborhood of 
23,000 subscribers to the Domestic Journal. The name was later 
changed to Woni and WorJx, and the publication made more re- 
ligious in tone. The "Christian Workers' Union" is interested 
in the conduct of the magazine. 

The French- Amcricait Citizen, the organ of the ' French- 
American college, is also published from the Evangelist building, 
the composition being done by the students themselves. In addi- 
tion, many miscellaneous tracts are produced, and the establish- 
ment may .justly l)e teniicd the religious press of Hampden 
county. 

THE PRESS OP WESTFIELD 

For two centuries, AVestfield, whose venturesome pioneers 
had pushed the Bay Path westward to the Woronoco Valley, was 
without a local newspapei-, and the earliest one recorded is the 
Hampden Register, which received its first impi'ession on the 18th 
of February. 1824, published by INIajor Joseph Root. It con- 
tained five columns to the page, as appears to have been the usual 
limitations of the papers of that period. It was Republican in 
politics. Two years later Dr. Job Clark became editor, jNIajor 
Root still retaining a place in the establishment. About a year 
later the paper passed into the hands of V. W. Smith and John 
B. Fldridge. A change of policy and editorial tone worked to 
the detriment of the sheet, which Avas followed by several changes 
in ownership and management, until November 29th, 1831, when 
it was discontinued. 

The earlier printing offices of Westfield were located on the 
"Green," the center of the town's business activities. The 
editors looked fi'om the windows of their sanctums out upon the 
public square, with its symbols of country village life— the town 
pump, the public hay scales, the fiag-staft', and the passing to and 
fro of the modest local and subur])an traffic. The initiation of 
the office "devil" included the task of carrying buckets of water, 

( 442 ) 



THE PRESS 

summer and winter, from the town pump and bearing the modest 
edition on publication day to the post-office. The files of the old 
papers, somewhat incomplete, are stored in the Atheneiim, musty 
records of the youth of the 19th century. Their politics were 
expressed in no uncertain tones ; their essays and articles on 
morals, agriculture, etc., elaborate and long drawn out; their 
foreign news given large space, while local affairs were almost 
totally ignored. Later, when the building of the canal through 
the town was commenced, and the railroads penetrated into the 
town, the editors were awakened from their lethargy and "local" 
news actually forced itself upon them, and was not to be ignored. 
Human nature and its traits showed itself, in the way of more or 
less scathing arraignments of one editor and his policy, by the 
scribe of his "esteemed contemporary," and many are the ac- 
knowledgments of benefits in the way of floral, fruity, or more 
substantial favors, laid on the editorial table by friends of the 
office. 

Glancing through a copy of volume 1, No. 1, of Westfield's 
first paper, the Hampden Bcglster, issued Wednesday evening, 
February 18, 1824, we find the following "Prospectus," in which 
the editor expresses his intention to adhere to Republican prin- 
ciples, and that his paper "shall never become a vehicle for the 
propagation of slander, nor an instrument to gratify personal 
revenge — the period of foul recrimination and party animosity is 
past, and it is believed the time has already arrived when a paper 
may be conducted on principles purely national, devoted exclu- 
sively to the interests of the people and not to that of party." 
Then follows an article on the "North American Indians," with 
others under the heading "Moral and Religious," then a couple 
of columns of "Miscellany," Avhich complete the first page. The 
two inside pages are taken up with news from more or less remote 
parts of the world, the doings of congress, the militia, etc. The 
modest array of advertising includes : "William King, jr., & Co. 
Fur Caps; C. & C. Cobb, Shoe Store; Robert Whitney, Flour, 
Salt, etc.," a few local real estate advertisements, and a small 
number of advertisements of Springfield concerns. The fourth 
page has a half column of poetry, a story of Avestern adventures, 

( 443 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

and an essay on "Matrimony," besides short paragraphs on 
morals, thrift, and general good conduct. In the salutatory edi- 
torial, INIr. Root says, "To the Public : We, this day, present our 
patrons with the first number of the Register. The establishment 
of a new paper is an event of so much importance that it usually 
excites some degree of interest, and the public are desiroiLS of 
knowing by what principles it is to be governed. Pub- 
lic opinion is the basis upon which our government is 
supported, and this opinion is very materially aiit'ected 
by periodical publications, which are numerous in every 
part of our country. In 1720, there was but one news- 
paper published in the United States : in 1777, there were 25, and 
now, there are between 500 and 600. ... In our country, 
all power being derived from the ichole people, it is of the 
utmost importance that the source from which it flows should be 
enlightened and pure. . . Our columns shall not be polluted 
with the foul breath of personal pique and pi-ivate and personal 
slander, but while these are excluded, we shall cheerfully give 
place to all information and temperate discussion upon the official 
conduct and political opinions, and shall earnestly endeavor, as 
we may deem it to be our duty, to expose and if possible, check, 
every deviation from the path of political rectitude. ' ' The above 
description of the initial number of the Register is given as a syn- 
opsis of the journalistic style of the time. In 1826, the name of 
J. Clark appears as editor. An important theme of discussion 
was the slave trade, and frequent reference to the same is found 
in the files of the paper. The issue of the Register dated April 
2, 1828, appeared with the name of John B. Eldridge as editor. 
The general character of the paper continued the same, the doings 
of town and county being heralded in the easy-going way, with 
the advertisements varied by notices of canal directors, stray 
cattle, runaway apprentices. Academy notices, etc. Over the 
heading of "Marriages" was printed a crude wood-cut of a heart, 
pierced by a shaft, presumably from Cupid's bow. 

With the issue of December 10, 1828, the Hampden Register, 
having been re-christened the Westfield Register, with a newman, 
J. D. Huntington, as editor, this motto was added to its heading, 

( 444 ) 



THE PRESS 

"Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's, thy God's, and 
truth," the paper keeping on in the even tenor of its way, with a 
slight variation of editorial style. A book store was conducted 
by the early publishers of AYestfield, in connection with their 
printing business, and school books, novels and stationery were 
advertised, 

Thursday evening, September 10, 1833, appeared number 1 
of volume 1 of the Westfield Journal, edited by Joseph Bull, jr. 
The Journal's predecessors had been published on Wednesdays, 
while Mr. Bull saw fit to go to press one day earlier in the week. 
The office of publication was in the Ives block, corner of Main 
and Broad streets, on "the Green," and the building was then, 
undoubtedly, Westfield 's most imposing business structure, and 
to-day makes no mean appearance on the square. In his saluta- 
tory. Editor Bull says : * ' To the Public : Why not a news- 
paper in Westfield? AVhy may we not mingle our thoughts 
and interchange our sentiments with the wordy throng Avho write, 
and print, and publish, the things which are, or Avhich may be, as 
inspiration or fancy dictates ? We are not aware of any abridg- 
ment of freedom, or any power of restraint, which should seal our 
lips, or palsy our hands, while we have a cause to present to a 
sovereign people. In truth, we think it would be no great obtru- 
sion if we should presume to take our stand in the field, and we 
offer to bear some small part in the labors, the sacrifices, the 
honors (and if we may indulge in the humble hope), the emolu- 
ments of the press." The style of the typography of the Journal 
evidences the use of the same material employed on the preceding 
AA^estfield newspapers. 

Following the JNIarch 24, 1835, issue of the Westfield Journal 
came the March 31, 1835, issue of the Democratic Herald, still 
printed by Mr. Bull, but bearing the name of N. T. Leonard as 
proprietor, and N. T. Leonard and E. Davis, editors. Temper- 
ance seems to have been a favorite theme with the Herald, and the 
subject is given liberal space in its succeeding issues. About a 
year later, the paper was discontinued. 

On the 9th of April, 1836, The Talisman made its appear- 
ance. It was edited by H. B. Smith, who had served as an ap- 

( 445 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

prentice in the printer's art, and who was destined to become a 
leading figure in the industrial and social life of Westfield. TJie 
Talisman, owing to a change of plans, was discontinued at the 
end of three months. 

In April, 1839, Calvin Torrey started the Democratic news- 
paper called the Westfield Spectator. In October, 1841, Dr. 
William O. Bell bought the paper, and shortly after changed its 
name to the Woro)ioco Palladium, continuing its publication for 
about two years, when the original owner, Mr. Torrey. again 
assumed control, reviving the original name of ''Spectator.'' 
About a year later this paper died. 

The late Emerson Davis, so long connected with the town's 
educational and religious work, published the Scliolar's Journal 
for two years, in 1828 and 1829, during his principalship of the 
Academy. 

Westfield's famous old Academy, whose graduates have gone 
forth over the world, to reflect honor upon themselves and their 
alma mater, was the center of publication, at different times, of 
various papers of a literary and patriotic tone : and the publish- 
ing impulse lives to this day among the students ; and none will 
say it is not a most helpful and worthy addition to the routine of 
regular school work. 

In October, 1845. the Wrslficld Standard was started by 
Hiram A. Beebe. At the end of two years, it was discontinued, 
and after a short interval, was revived by J. D. Bates, who Avas 
succeeded by William W. Whitman. Joseph M. Ely soon after 
purchased the establishment, and continued the paper for some 
three years, having as editorial associates Asahel Bush and Henry 
C. Moseley. In January, 1852, Gilbert AV. Cobb bought the 
Standard, which lived until August, 1854, and on the 7th of 
October of the same year, the Wide Awake American was started, 
to further certain political interests ; and like the other branches 
of the journalistic family tree, soon decayed and fell to earth. 

Henry C. Moseley, in taking editorial charge of the Stand- 
ard, the office of publication being in Hull's building, east side of 
the Green, says: ''Very often since the establishment of this 
paper, has a now spirit been called to control its destinies, and so 

( 446 ) 




Phineas L. Biiell 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

often has a long Prospectus been issued, accompanied by prom- 
ises and pledges, too often unfulfilled and unredeemed. We 
deem it unnecessary to follow in the footsteps of our illustrious 
predecessors, but as Ave make our editorial bow to the patrons of 
the Standard, Ave Avould assure them that so long as its columns 
are under our control, they Avill be devoted to the advancement of 
the great and glorious principles of Democracy." The same lack 
of local news characterizes the Standard. 

Meantime, in February, 1841, the ^yestfield Neus Letter had 
been established by Elijah Porter. The paper Avas Whig in 
politics, and its editor is Avell remembered by many still living,, 
as a man having firm convictions and certain peculiarities, with a 
goodly alloAvanee of the self-confidence and faith that are indeed 
important factors to success in any enterprise. Mr. Porter Avas 
assisted in his Avork, for some time, in the late 40 's by a bright 
young journalist, Samuel H. DaA'is, son of Dr. DaAds, aa^Iio later 
took a position on the Springfield Ecpuhlican. In 1851, P. L. 
Buell became a partner Avith Mr. Porter, and the folloAving year, 
A. T. DcAvej', Avas admitted to the firm, remaining about tAvo 
years, AA'hen he left the concern. Mr. Buell, Avho was an able 
phrenologist as well as a literary man, in more recent years Avas 
librarian at the Westfield Atheneum, and is pleasantly remem- 
bered by the patrons of that institution. Mr. Porter Avent West, 
and engaged in ncAA'spaper Avork there, and the News-Letter con- 
tinued under varying management until merged Avith the Times 
in 1873. 

The initial issue of the Westfield Neics-Lettcr and Farmers'^ 
and Mechanics' Journal bore at the head of its editorial column a 
banner on AA'hich Avas inscribed "Harrison and Better Times,"" 
and President Harrison's inaugural address Avas printed in full, 
in that issue. An item also states ' ' Our paper is furnished from 
the mill of Cyrus W. Field & Co. of this toAvn, ' ' Avhich recalls the 
interesting fact that the enterprising Cyrus, destined to become 
world-famous and Avealthy, Avas at that time a part of the local 
industrial life. Another item refers to a revival at "Hooppole," 
in the western part of the town, the district destined later to be 
knoAvn as ''West Parish," and eventually to bear its present more 

( 448 ) 



THE PRESS 

romantic appellation of "Mundale." A department is devoted 
to ''Prices of Farmers' Produce," and the cattle market. 

The business life of Westfield in the year 1841 is indicated by 
the News Letter's ads., which bear the names of Samuel C. Smith, 
dry goods, crockery, shoes, etc., east side of the Green; Jere 
Hitchcock, boots and shoes, third door east of the post-office ; John 
F. Comstock, fashionable hair dresser, J. Taylor 's building ; Kand 
& Johnson, wrapping paper; Misses Parsons & Parker, dressmak- 
ers, north side of the Green ; A. G. Chadwick & Co., diy goods, 
wagons, soda biscuit, flour, fall and winter oil, etc. ; Joseph Sib- 
ley, gaiter boots and slips; Samuel B. Kice & Co.'s store on the 
bank of the canal, wholesale produce, groceries, etc. ; John H. 
Starr, jr., tailor. Jessup"s building, west of the Park; William 
Hooker, jr.. flour: Lyman Lewis, hardware: and H. B. Smith, 
who kept a general store on the north side of the Green, and who 
throughout a long life, was closely identified with the town's 
business interests, was also an advertiser in the first issue of the 
Xeit's-Lefter. As indicating the trend of local life in the early 
40 's, a few extracts are made from the first year's issues of the 
Neics-Letter, whose files unfold to the reader the typical village 
journalism of sixty years ago. These refer to the New Haven 
and Northampton canal which "offers great facilities for trans- 
portation of passengers, goods, etc.;" "wood and farmers' pro- 
duce wanted at the office of the editor;" notice of the death of 
President Harrison, on which occasion the News-Lctter appeared 
in the conventional mourning garb of inverted column rules, bold 
and black. Under a bold heading ' ' Postscript, ' ' the paper prints 
the very indefinite but important item. "By a passenger from 
Worcester, who left this morning, we learn that it was reported 
that a messenger from Washington passed through Worcester, 
JNIonday night, with a message or an address from the President 
of the United States." The above was, no doubt, considered at 
the time as important as is the most consequential Associated 
Press dispatch of to-day. At least, one cannot but commend the 
enterprise of the editor in making the most of the matter. Fre- 
quent "canal" notices appear, with the antiquated cut of a canal 
boat drawn by a couple of horses, the arrival and departure of 



29-1 



( 449 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

boats being noted, etc., etc. The canal, the then important water- 
way that put Westfield in touch with the country's metropolis 
and the world generally, furnished much in the way of news for 
the News-Letter, viz., items from up and down the country, inci- 
dents and accidents eonnected^with boating life, and occasionally 
a reference to the disreputable brothels and "taverns" in the 
towns along the course of the canal, to which Westfield was no 
exception. The records of the Court of Common pleas in town 
showed that the people of old Westfield were but mortal, and the 
sentences imposed proved that "the way of the transgressor is 
hard." And so, on through the succeeding years, Elijah Porter 
put the Woronoco Valley's life in type, with the motto, under the 
paper's heading, "I come, the Herald of a noisy world— News 
from all Nations lumbering at my back." And here and there may 
be found spicy hits at his contemporaries, reprimands of local 
misdemeanors, suggestions for local public improvements, and 
the like. The editor and publisher of a country paper was not 
above receiving the prosaic firewood and farm produce, in ex- 
change for subscriptions, and periodical calls for the same are 
printed in the columns of Mr. Porter's paper. And the historian 
of to-day, Avho seeks material, may well turn to these files, a half- 
century old, where will be found long and most interesting arti- 
cles by the then "oldest inhabitants," under the heading of 
^'Sketches of Westfield." 

With the issue of August 19, 1871, the Neivs-Letter was en- 
larged. It was then published by P. L. Buell, and from a town 
of something like 4,000 inhabitants, Avhen the paper was started, 
the population had grown to about 6,000, or one-half its present 
population and the news field was considerably broadened in con- 
sequence. The paper's motto had been changed to "Independent 
in all things, neutral in nothing." The growth of the business 
interests of the town is well indicated by the liberal advertising 
patronage. With the issue of December 23, 1871, the News- 
Letter passed from the hands of Mr. Buell to the ownership of 
Sherman Adams, who had seen his apprenticeship days on the 
same paper, some twenty years previous. The editorial column 
of that issue contains the valedictory address of the former, and 

( 450 ) 



THE Fh'ESS 

the salutatory address of the latter, and the motto under the 
paper 's heading was changed to ' ' For the people, with the people, 
and of the people." Advertising and local items took a boom, 
and the need of more space led to the frequent issuing of a sup- 
plement, and with the issue of August 23, 1872, the paper was 
enlarged. 

The ^Yest€rn HaDipden Times was established in INIarch, 
1869, and the News-Letfer found itself with a rival. The Times 
was published by Clark & Carpenter, in jNIorand's block. Elm 
street, and was in general make-up similar to the News-Letter, 
and between the two papers, the local news field was more than 
ever closely culled, and a friendly editorial "spat" enlivened 
matters occasionally. With the issue of April 6, 1870, the Times 
passed into the hands of a new firm, Clark & Story, Mr. C. C. 
Story having bought an interest in the concern, and assuming the 
business management. 

With the issue of Wednesday afternoon, July 8, 1874, the 
two papers appeared as one, having been consolidated under the 
name of the Western Hampden Times and Westfield News-Letter, 
with Clark & Story as publishers, the Times absorbing the News- 
Letter, job department and all. 

In August, 1875, Sherman Adams started the Woronoco 
Advertiser, a small paper of four pages, each 6x9 inches in size, 
with two columns to the page. The paper was printed on a 
Globe job press, with a very modest mechanical equipment, all 
contained in the front room of the editor's home, where, with the 
assistance of the members of his numerous family, it was issued 
weekly. In a few months, the paper was doubled in size, and the 
name changed to the Westfield Advertiser, and after a more or 
less struggling existence of a few^ years, expired. ]\Ir. Adams re- 
moved to Florida, where he died. 

Westfield, in the year 1871, was passing from the village to 
town improvements, and one of the great accomplishments of the 
year was the bringing into use of the town's gravity system of 
water supply from Montgomery. The old-time custom of ringing 
all the bells in town, in case of fire, and creating virtually a panic, 
by the general uproar, was drawing the attention of the people 

( 451 ) 



01 R COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE 

to the desirability of a fire alarm system, and correspondents dis- 
cussed the matter in various issues of the paper, though it was 
many years before the system materialized. 

In the issue of October 14, 1871, an account was given of the 
great Chicago fire, the great news event of that year. "Westfield, 
in those days, was more or less lax in some ways, and certain 
forms of mischief, now effectually kept in check, seem to have 
prevailed unhampered, the town having very slight police protec- 
tion. The east side of Park Square was, in the early 70 's, still 
honored by the name of "Bum Row," a name which had been 
applied to it in the many years of the sale of spirituous liquors. 
The frequent raids of the state constables into the town, in their 
quest of liquor illegally sold, were great exciting events of that 
period, as many will remember. The issue of July 6, 1872, notes 
the good work being done by the Westfield ' ' Town Improvement 
Association," wherein mention is made of the new "Boulevard" 
just opened, now known as Western avenue. November 15, 1872, 
is noted the first edition of the Westfield Directory, then in press. 
The murder of Charles D. Sackett by Albert H. Smith, for which 
the latter was condemned and executed, was a matter of intense 
local interest in the early 70 's. The Normal boarding-house was 
an important addition to the buildings of the town at that time. 
The "hard times" of 1873 furnish the theme for many an item 
for that year. Money was scarce, and the newspaper men felt 
the effect along with the rest. 

In the issue of the Western Hampden Times and Westfield 
Ncu-s Letter, announcing the consolidation of the two papers, we 
find these words. "We cherish no feelings of exultation that a 
rival has fallen. It has simply been a graceful yielding to fate." 
From that time on— July 8, 1874— for several years, the Times, 
as the combined papers came to be known for convenience, filled 
the local field alone, not only covering it thoroughly, but also 
devoting ample space to the outlying towns of Southwick, Gran- 
ville, Tolland, Russell, Blandford, Montgomery, Granby, etc., 
where live correspondents have worked for the proper representa- 
tion of their respective localities. Editor Clark now looks back 
over nearly a half centui\y"s service with the press of this section, 

( 452 ) 



THE PEES8 

and his work is a record of the development of the interests of the 
field, grown from small beginnings to recognized importance. 

The West field Times and Neivs-Letter has been published for 
many years at No. 11 School street, its offices being located in the 
second and third stories of the Colton building. In December, 
1897, the firm name was changed, a corporation being formed 
under the name of the Clark & Story company. On account of 
the death. October 25. 1901, of JNIr. Story, who for thirty years 
had had the business and mechanical management of the paper, 
the company was reorganized, with L. N. Clark president and 
editor-in-chief. L. N. Clark, jr.. clerk, treasurer and business 
manager, and Joseph C. Duport, manager of the mechanical de- 
partment and associate editor. The senior j\Ir. Clark commenced 
his newspaper career in the office of the Gazette and Courier at 
Greenfield, fifty years ago, when that paper was published by 
Phelps (S: Eastman. He has since served on the Hampshire Ga- 
zette, the Springfield Union, of which he was the first local editor, 
and the Berkshire County Eagle, coming from Pittsfield to "West- 
field, January 1, 1869, to start the Western Hampden Times, 
afterwards consolidated with the News-Letter. The Times and 
News Letter, the oracle of the AVoronoco Valley, which has long 
been an important factor in moulding public opinion in the com- 
munity, and numbers in its constituency people in nearly every 
state of the Union, starts auspiciously under its present manage- 
ment, and is going on from prospering to prosper. 

The Valley Echo, established at Huntington in February, 
1885, was the first newspaper that had been published between 
Westfield and Pittsfield. It was started by two Holyoke men, 
V. J. Irwin and AY. H. Way, Mho conceived the idea that a live 
local paper, free from partisan or private obligations, might be 
made to pay in the AYestfield river valley. The first issue was 
heartily received, and the subsequent growth was very marked. 
Not long after, increasing business made advisable the starting of 
a separate edition at Chester, which likewise flourished. Early 
in 1886, an edition was started for Westfield, and was called Tlie 
Valley Echo, while to the other two editions respectively were 
given the names of the H untinytoii Herald and Tlte Chester 

( 453 ) 



01 R COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Chronicle. When first actually located in "Westfield, in the fall 
of 1887, the Valley Echo had quarters in the Spencer building, 
corner of Elm street and Crary avenue. Here it remained until 
1889, when the first floor in the Atkins block on Elm street was 
leased and there the paper has since been published. Sometime 
later, the basement was utilized, and during the past year, the 
second floor of the block has been added, so that the concern now 
has three floors. When first organized, it was known as "the 
W. H. AVay & Co.," and later as "The Home Newspaper Co.," 
but in 1889 it was incorporated at $10,000, and with a Massachu- 
setts charter, became known as ' ' the Home Newspaper Publishing 
Co." It still continues its Huntington and Chester editions 
under their respective names. The plant is now equipped with 
ample room and power, and supplied with up-to-date jobbing 
material and facilities. The corporation is at present organized 
as follows : President, Charles M. Gardner ; secretary and treas- 
urer, James H. Dickinson ; directors, C. M. Gardner, James H. 
Dicldnson, James A. Dakin. The policy of the paper cannot be 
better expressed than in the motto that appears at the head of 
the editorial column, "It is the people's paper, and is not run in 
the interests of any particular class or party. Independent and 
honest, it aims to serve in the best way the greatest number." 

Aside from the purely local newspapers that have cultivated 
the news field of the Woronoco valley, those of Springfield have, 
for many years been represented by local reporters, among whom 
may be mentioned J. D. Cadle, whose work for the Republican, 
and later for the Union, has made him a recognized factor in 
newspaperdom, and Edward G. Clark (eldest son of L. N. Clark), 
who has been for more than a decade the daily Republican's cor- 
respondent in Westfield. The large circulation of Springfield's 
dalies in Westfield has been the means of deferring the publica- 
tion of a local daily. A movement was made some years ago in 
that direction, but the attempt was soon abandoned. 



( 454 ) 



THE PFESS 

THE PRESS OP HOLYOKE 

The Hampden Freeman's first number gives these facts in 
its caption: The HampcJen Freeman, a family newspaper, pub- 
lished every Saturday, at Ireland Depot (West Springfield), by 
AVilliam L. Morgan & Co. ; office on Maple street, opposite the 
school house ; one dollar per annum. The motto of the paper was 
"Where Liberty dwells, there is my Country," and a coat of 
arms, worked into the heading, bore the words, "Constitution, 
Truth, Independence, People's Rights." The second issue of the 
paper contains an article on ' ' Our New City, ' ' which speaks thus 
hopefully of Holyoke 's prospects : ' ' This infant giant of west- 
ern INIassachusetts, destined to eclipse Lowell and other manufac- 
turing places in this country, is situated upon the right bank of 
the Connecticut river, about eight miles from Springfield." Then 
follows a detailed account of the development of the town's won- 
derful water power, its rapidly grooving population, etc. The 
business section was then in the district near the dam, as the 
advertisements will indicate. Among the first advertisers was 
W. B. C. Pearsons, attorney and counsellor at law. Much space 
is given to advertisements and the general interests of Chicopee. 
The issue of Saturday, March 23, 1850, of the Hampden Freeman 
appears in a new dress of type, with a new heading and under 
new proprietorship, Morgan & Henderson, and for the first time 
does the name "Holyoke" appear in its date line, the name "Ire- 
land Depot" being permanently dropped. This issue contains an 
elaborate description and sectional plan of the wonderful dam, 
and in its leading editorial gives its platform and principles, 
stating: "To our Whig friends we offer our kindest wishes and 
zealous support, and we shall sustain, as well as we may, the 
principles of the great and national Whig party. We are op- 
posed to the extension of slavery into the new territories, and we 
are as much opposed to the policy of certain leaders at the north 
who style themselves the Free Soil Party. . . As men, we 
extend the hand of friendship to our Democratic readers (and we 
have a very large number), and wish them all success in private 
and personal enterprises, but as partisans, Ave throw the gauntlet 
in their midst, and in our strength defy them." 

( 455 ) 



OVB COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Saturday, September G, 1850, AVilliam L. Morgan is named 
as sole proprietor. 

The issue of Saturday, January 15, 1853, appeared with the 
title changed to the Holyoke Freeman, with A. B. F. Hildreth as 
editor, and having as a part of the heading a vignette of the 
Holyoke dam and surrounding landscape, while the paper was 
considerably enlarged. The new editor took occasion to say, ''As 
before intimated, our course will be free, frank and independent. 
In no other way can a press exercise its due influence, and com- 
mand that respect to which it is entitled. A truckling, time- 
serving public journal is of all things, most contemptible, and its 
influence must be deprecated. Therefore, as long as we shall 
have occasion to cater for the intellectual palate, we must do so, 
'Unawed by influence, and Unbridled by gain.' " 

The first issue of the Holyoke Weekly Mirror appeared Sat- 
urday, January 7, 1854. bearing the name of A. B. F. Hildreth 
as proprietor. For some time the town had been without a news- 
paper, and in his leading editorial the editor states : ''The Mirror 
will l)e held \\\) to nature, or in other words, it will seek to give a 
true reflection of men and things as they shall appear from week 
to week." The phenomenal growth of the town is repeatedly 
referred to, and in fact, the succeeding issues of all the papers 
Holyoke has ever had, teem with the subject, and very justly so, 
for where else in the county has there been greater reason to harp 
upon rapid and substantial growth? And where else could be 
found so prolific a news field as that offered by a town, with a 
growing and cosmopolitan population, with the accidents and 
incidents connected with canal digging, mill building, or occa- 
sional lively "scraps" between people of difi'erent nationalities, 
with the ever-present political strife? With mills rising on all 
sides, like mushrooms, and the facts incident to their growth, the 
town was a real news-incubator, although it must be admitted 
that, like all jiapers of the period, the Mirror appeared to make 
very little of the strictly local features. 

With the issue of Saturday morning. November 24, 1855, the 
Holyoke Mirror appeared under the proprietorship of Lilley & 
Pratt, who. referring to their paper, say. "From being a 'straight 

( 456 ) 



THE PRESS 

Whig" it will become an independent jonrnal. By this, we do not 
desire to have it understood that the Mirror will be a nentral 
paper. By no means ! On the contrary, it will plainly and bold- 
ly advocate all pnblic measures which it shall deem essential to 
the interests of the connnnnity. and denounce those which may 
appear to have injurious features and tendencies, without regard 
to the party by which they may be originated or supported. 

With the issue of February 2, 1856, the editors of the Mirror 
explain the adoption of a smaller form for their sheet, as follows : 
"We appear before you. this week, with a smaller sheet than we 
have been wont to do. and .justice to our readers requires that we 
explain our motive for so doing, which we hope, when carefully 
examined will prove satisfactory to all. In the first place, the 
glory and honor of publishing a large pa[)er we care nothing 
about. We publish a paper to make money, and the paper that 
pays best will be best, not only for the publisher, but for the sub- 
scriber. It is not the size of a paper that determines its worth, 
and we are among those who believe that a little, well done, is 
much better than a great deal poorly done. We have found, by 
trial, that the subscription list of the Mirror, although now good, 
and daily increasing, never has paid, and will not pay for the 
labor bestowed upon so large a paper, and pay us besides, a fair, 
living profit. What we mean now to do is. that while we shall 
give you less reading matter, we shall endeavor to embrace all 
the news in a more condensed form, and give choicer selections of 
miscellaneous reading. We wish to publish a paper that shall be 
at the same time, best for our patrons and ourselves. ' ' 

Pratt & AVheelock succeeded Lilley & Pratt wdth the issue of 
August 9. 1856. and in that paper Mr. Lilley makes his editorial 
farewell bow. An editorial in the issue of December 5, 1857. 
dwells at length on the subject of the issue between the Catholics 
and Protestants of Holyoke. in the matter of the Bible in the 
public schools, taking sides very firmly with the Protestants, and 
winding up with a quotation from a speech of Mr. Choate : 
""VS^iat ! Give up the reading of the Bible in our common schools? 
Never! never! as long as a piece of Plymouth Rock is left big 
enough to make a gun flint out of !" 

( 457 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Myron C. Pratt became sole owner with the issue of Novem- 
ber 20, 1858. 

The Holyoke Transcript, established in 1863, Burt & Lyman 
proprietors, gives in its earlier issues the trend of Holyoke life 
during the Civil war. With the first issue of their second vol- 
ume, April 9, 1864, the editors say: "The year preceding the 
commencement of the Transcript was perhaps among the darkest 
that Holyoke has seen, and while our enterprise received liberal 
encouragement, thei-e were many who looked upon it with doubt 
as to its success." Thus, it wall be noted, between the lines, that 
Holyoke journalism was not a long, sweet dream, but severely 
and strenuously practical, with the expense account spectre ever 
haunting the publishers' domains. 

September 24, 1864, Mr. Lyman's name appears alone as 
proprietor, and in April, 1867, the paper was somewhat enlarged 
and adopted a different style heading, with the characteristic dam 
as a feature. AVith the dawning of the 70 's the Transcript gave 
evidence of the mercantile and industrial growth of Holyoke, in 
the increased and diversified advertising patronage, and the local 
news columns showed marked expansion, the newer spirit having^ 
taken hold. AVith the issue of February 11, 1871, the Transcript 
appears with the names of Lyman & Kirtland as publishers, Mr. 
E. L. Kirtland having been taken into partnership. The Tran- 
script had now taken on the eight page form. 

Holyoke 's first daily paper appeared October 9, 1882, in a 
daily edition of the Transcript in four page form, six columns to 
the page, with Loomis & Dwight as publishers, and the growth of 
the paper since that time has been continuous, keeping well up in 
the journalistic procession, with modern mechanical equipment, 
and able editing. January 1, 1888, Mr. Dwight became sole pro- 
prietor, and has conducted the paper alone, at the stand so long^ 
occupied by it on High street. 

Since the birth of journalism in Holyoke, there have been 
many new ventures in the way of newspapers, Avhich have been 
started to fill "a long felt want," or to boom the causes of this or 
that political party or clique, unable otherAvise to reach the public 
mind, and obtain an audience for the promulgation of certain 

( 458 ) 



THE PEESS 

ideas. These papers have lived for a time, sailing more or less 
against the tide, but eventually have sunk, and aside from the 
long established Transcripl:, which is itself the survivor of a long 
line that has had succession from Holyoke's first paper, all have 
proved short-lived. 

Holyoke's other daily, the Evening Telegram, which has its 
office in the Senior building on High street, was established June 
11, 1898, and is a one cent democratic paper, with a modern plant. 
The organizer and first editor of the Telegram was P. J. Kennedy, 
and the original office of publication was in the "Whitcomb build- 
ing on Dwight street, he being succeeded by E. H. McPhee, and 
he, in turn followed by George F. Jenks. During the first year 
or more of its existence, the Telegram had as a rival, besides the 
old-rstablished Transeript, another young daily, the Evening 
Glohe, which gave up the tight in February, 1900. On Monday 
evening, June 11, 1900, the Telegram issued an anniversary num- 
ber, which was fully up to the standard of such efforts, and in 
which is given a review of the city's progress during the few 
years of the paper's existence. Like most modern papers, the 
Telegram has a department devoted to the spicy paragraphing of 
the events of the hour, the one in this case being headed "Obser- 
vations. ' ' 

AYitli the large foreign population, drawn into Holyoke by 
its varied industries, it is but natural that they should have a 
journal printed in their native tongue, and so we find as the 
representative paper of the Germans, of whom there are 7,000, or 
about one-sixth of Holyoke 's population, the Neiv England Bimd- 
schau, semi-weekly, published by the German-American Publish- 
ing Co. from their office on South Main street, Holyoke, in the 
center of the German population. This is the oldest paper in the 
Paper City, aside from the Transcript, having been established in 
July, 1882. Besides the Holyoke issue, there are editions printed 
for circulation in Springfield, Rockville, and for the towns of 
Berkshire county. 

Another paper to share the Teutonic journalistic honors, 
though on a more modest scale is Die Biene (the Bee), which has 
its office on Sargeant street, within a stone's throw of the office 

( 459 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

of its contemporary above mentioned. Die Biene was established 
in 1893, and has for its publisher August Lehmann. It is pub- 
lished on Wednesdays. A special edition under the heading 
"Vorwarts" (Forward), is issued for circulation in Springfield. 
One finding himself in the German quarter of Holyoke, with the 
tongue of the Fatherland spoken on all sides, and especially as he 
sees issuing from the press the newspapers with their quaint Ger- 
man characters, may readily imagine himself in the land of the 
Kaiser. When Holyoke, by the enterprise of the early mill pros- 
pectors, left its early state of villagehood and merged into a man- 
ufacturing connnu2iity, the question of securing operatives be- 
came important, and though for a time the native New England- 
ers. and later, the families of the Irish laborers who had been 
imported to work on the dam, sufficed as "hands" in the mills, it 
was not long lief ore an exodus set in from Canada to Holyoke, 
where hundreds of families have found a home and positions as 
operatives in the various industries, growing up, and improving 
socially, until now, the French population of the Paper City is in 
itself important, and not a few among them, by thrift, and 
through the opportunities oifered by the rapid growth of the city, 
have become wealthy. Churches, schools, benevolent societies 
and clubs abound, adhering to and fostering the language and 
traditions of their people. 

The French press of Holyoke, like its contemporaries of 
other nationalities, has had its years of varied experience. The 
journals, like men, have come and gone, but for many years the 
city has not been long without some form of French newspaper. 
At present. La Presse, which is published from 20 Main street, 
with Tesson & Carignan as editors and proprietors, is the organ 
of the French-Canadian population of Holyoke, issuing as well 
separate editions as follows : Le Glohe, Fitchburg, Mass. ; Le Can- 
adien, Somersworth and Dover, N. H. ; Le Canadien- American, 
Norwich, Ct. : Le Connecticut, Waterbury, Ct. These papers 
reach a field touched by no other papers, and are therefore im- 
portant factors in New England journalism. 

La Presse was established as a weekly in 1895, and as a semi- 
weekly in 1898. 

( 460 ) 



THE PRESS 

Incidentally, it may be stated that at the office of La Fresse, 
is done the mechanical work on the Holyoke Free Fress, which 
caters, perhaps more than the other papers, to the so-called sensa- 
tional features of Holyoke 's news field. With the German and 
French papers of the city, an important task in the editorial de- 
partments, is the translation of "copy," which is handed in by 
advertisers and the English-wi-iting contributors generally, into 
the language of the paper, so that it may be conveniently put into 
type by the compositors, who are above the ordinary of such ar- 
tisans in that the multitude of special characters, accents, etc., 
peculiar to the languages, require special knowledge. 

Aside from the regular business of newspaper publication, a 
vast amount of general printing is done in the city, through the 
requirements of its many and varied industries. Most of the 
newspapers have job plants connected, and Holyoke has more 
than a national reputation for the excellence of its special and 
high class printing, as is attested in the world's leading typo- 
graphical journals. 

THE PRESS OF CHICOPEE 

The first newspaper within the limits of Chicopee, was issued 
in January, 1840, by Thomas D. Blossom, who came from Hing- 
ham, Mass. The paper was called the Cahotville Chronicle and 
Chicopee Falls Advertiser. The paper changed hands, and was 
called the Mechanics' Offering. In August, 1846, a company 
composed of Messrs. Hervey Russell, Amos W. Stockwell, and 
James M. Cavanaugh, purchased the paper, and changed the 
name to the Cahotville Mirror, democratic in politics. The es- 
tablishment was destroyed by fire in 1848. In November, 1849, 
the subscription list was transferred to the Springfield Sentinel, 
which issued it under the head of the Chicopee Mirror, until Feb. 
2, 1850. The Chicopee Telegraph was first issued by J. C. 
Stoever & Co., on Febiniary 11th, 1846, and was largely devoted 
to agricultural and kindred topics, and in May, 1853, J. R. Childs 
took the paper, and changed its name to the Chicopee Weekly 
Journal. Whig in politics. Successive proprietors and editors 
were David B. Potts, James C. Pratt, William G. Brown, J. C. 

( 461 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Havens and George V. Wheelock. The paper was discontinued 
Dec. 27, 1862. Mr. Havens was perhaps most prominent among 
the older editors, being identified with the local life of the place, 
and postmaster for a time. 

The files of the Chicopee papers, preserved in the library of 
that city, are a most valuable means of tracing the growth of the 
place, and very interesting articles are printed, even in the earlier 
issues, bearing on the history of Cabotville. The Chicopee Tele- 
graph was especially well printed ; in fact, its appearance to-day, 
is in a mechanical sense, far superior to the majority of modern 
weekly sheets. The advertisements give a synopsis of the busi- 
ness life of ' ' Merchants Row. ' ' 

The Chicopee Journal was vigorous and outspoken in its 
treatment of local afifairs ; and in the issue of Sept. 2, 1854, dur- 
ing the cholera epidemic, speaks of "Additional deaths on the 
'Patch,' owing to nonsensical fear, swinish filth and miserable 
liquor. Most of the deaths occur on Mondays, the result of the 
previous day's rum drinking. Some of the people on the 
' Patch ' act like double-and-twisted fools, as well as brutes, upon 
the subject, entirely forsaking the sick." 

As a specimen item, relating to the industries of Chicopee, 
the following is given : 

' ' The Ames company of Chicopee have been engaged for sev- 
eral months past in manufacturing cannon, bomb-shells and 
grape shot for His Most Serene Highness, Antonio Lopez de 
Santa Anna. Of the last named article, two hundred tons have 
been engaged, and we do not believe that the old, one-legged hum- 
bug will have killed a hundred men after they are all used up." 

With the decadence of some of Chicopee 's old industries, 
and the shifting of population, added to its proximity to Spring- 
field with an ample news service covering well the Chicopee in- 
terests, journalism of a local issuance has been almost totally 
abandoned there, one or two small job offices being all that re- 
main to represent the printing business. 



( 462 ) 



THE PRESS 



THE PRESS OF PALMER 



The history of journalism in Palmer exceeds half a century, 
the first attempt at newspaper publishing being made by Whitte- 
more & Tenney, who commenced the Palmer Sentinel in Janu- 
ary, 1846, and continued it about a year, when it was removed to 
Spi"ingfield. D. F. Ashley started the Palmer Times in 1847, 
but it began and ended with the first number. The Palmer 
Journal first appeared April 6, 1850, under the auspices of the 
"Palmer Publishing Association," with. Gordon M. Fiske as edi- 
tor and manager. Mr. Fiske bought out the plant at the end of 
the first year. He was a born journalist, and laid the founda- 
tion of one of the best conducted country papers of the state. His 
editorials were strong from the first, and were firm in the advo- 
cacy of temperance, and anti-slavery, and on the side of reform 
generally. The body of the paper w^as made up of good selec- 
tions and general news. Personals and local news did not then, 
as now, attract attention. Mr. Fiske was quite a poet, but never 
published his effusions over his own name. In 1867, during a 
prolonged session of the Legislature, he published a poem in the 
Journal entitled ' ' The wife at home to her husband in the Legis- 
lature," being a parody on "Father, Come Home." This was 
a great hit, and was copied far and wide, but it was not known 
till years afterwards that Mr. Fiske was the author. In 1860 
and 1861, Mr. Fiske was elected to the State Senate and later, he 
held a position on the visiting committee of the Monson State 
Institution. Under his management, the Journal had a wide 
field of influence, and a large circulation. In 1855, A. S. Goff 
was received as a partner in the Journal printing office. He 
Avas succeeded by James McLaughlin in 1862, who was followed 
a few years later by A. W. Briggs, who gave place to H. J. Law- 
rence in 1871. ]\Ir. Fiske remained as editor, till his decease in 
1879, when he was succeeded by his son, Charles B. Fiske, who 
enlarged and added many improvements in 1883. In 1885, L. E. 
Chandler was admitted into the firm, and after a few years, be- 
came the editor of the paper, but the firm continues to be C. B. 
Fiske & Co. The paper was again enlarged in 1891. It con- 

( 4G3 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

tiuues to be one of the best made up of country papers, and has 
a large circulation at home and in other states. Its local news 
covers a radius of ten miles around Palmer as a center. Of late 
years, it has frequently been illustrated with cuts of prominent 
local men and of local scenes and incidents. It has also paid 
much attention to local history, as well as passing events, which 
has added much to its popularity. Its managers are Avide awake 
for the interests of its patrons, and spare no pains in making 
each paper interesting. 

The first number of the Palmer Herald appeared June 18, 
1891. It was an eight page paper, published by Morse & 
Cady, and was continued till January 28, 1894, when the plant 
was destroyed in the burning of Holden's Opera House block, in 
which it was located. The paper had obtained a good circula- 
tion, and had won a fair degree of success. After the fire, its 
interests were purchased by the Palmer Journal, and its publica- 
tion discontinued. 

The Palmer Citizen was published bi-monthly, during the 
years 1895-6-7. It was edited by Rev. F. E. Jenkins, in the in- 
terests of no-license, and conducted a strenuous crusade against 
the liquor traffic in Palmer and surrounding towns, and created 
a wide spread interest. 



CHAPTER XXII 
FREE MASONRY 
BY HENRY L. HINES 



Organized jNIasonry was introduced into Hampden county 
in 1796, just sixty-three years after its introduction into Massa- 
chusetts. Previous to this date, however. Masonic meetings were 
held at the homes of members of the craft, or in rooms set apart 
for this purpose in the public taverns. At these meetings the 
lectures would be rehearsed and the brethren were undoubtedly 

( 464 ) 



FREE MASONRY 

as perfect in the woi-k as were those who had the advantage of 
frequent attendance on regular and special connnunications of 
lodges. 

Who were the first Masons in the county will never be 
known, nor can it be learned when the pioneers first began to 
assemble at the homes of the brethren or in the little upper story 
rooms in the taverns, to keep alive the interest in the work of the 
society. That the degrees Avere conferred upon the pioneers in 
Boston is practically certain, although some few may have been 
made Masons in New York. No records are extant that throw 
light on this, however. 

The early brethren never dreamed of the possibilities of the 
fraternity ! The most enthusiastic Mason of the early years 
could not have realized the growth which yeare Avere to bring to 
the order, nor the high position it was destined to hold in the 
esteem of men. Those early craftsmen believed in the teachings 
of JNlasonry, they lived up to those teachings, and laid the found- 
ation on which others should build the magnificent structure 
which to-day stands a lasting monument to their wisdom and 
uprightness of life. 

Perhaps it may not be out of place to briefly sketch the 
history of the order in this country, as a preface to the history 
of its introduction and growth in the county. In 1729, twelve 
years after the revival of Masonry in England, a provincial 
Grand Master was appointed for New Jersey. It cannot be 
learned, however, that this official did anything to spread the 
teachings of the order. There are extant no records of lodges 
instituted by him, but he may have organized a number in New 
Jersey and New York. If such were organized they and their 
records have long since ceased to exist. 

In 1733 Lord Viscount Montacute, Grand Master of Eng- 
land, commisioned Plenry Price of Boston, Grand Master of 
America. Masonry in this country therefore really dates fi'om 
that appointment, sixteen years after the revival in England. 

AVorshipfid Grand ]\Iaster Price was a man of action and an 
enthusiastic ]\Iason. Immediately upon receiving his connnis- 
sion he organized St. John's Grand lodge, the first grand lodge 



30-1 



( 465 ) 



OIK COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

in the country. The same year, St. John's Grand lodge granted 
a charter to St. John's lodge of Boston, the first "Blue" or sub- 
ordinate lodge in the state, and so far as the records show, the 
first in America. 

In 1752 the Grand lodge of Scotland, claiming equal juris- 
diction in the new world with the Grand lodge of England, 
granted a charter to St. Andrew's lodge of Boston. This lodge 
worked independently of St. John's Grand lodge, to which it 
owed no allegiance. In 1769, assisted by three traveling lodges 
in the British army, it organized a grand lodge in Boston, which 
took the name Grand lodge of Massachusetts. Joseph Warren 
was elected its first Grand Master. 

The result of the new Grand lodge, claiming jurisdiction in 
the state, was not what its founders had hoped for. Naturally 
ill feeling was engendered between the subordinate lodges and 
between the Grand lodges, and the growth of the order was ac- 
cordingly retarded. After twenty years of rivalry the wise men 
of the two Grand lodges brought about a union of the two Grand 
lodges, and the Grand lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable 
Society of Free and Accepted Masons for the commonwealth of 
Massachusetts was the result. 

With the union came the first marked forward move- 
ment of the society which has spread to every section of the 
country. In many of the smaller towns it had been impossiljle 
to form lodges for the reason that while there were enough 
INIasons to support a lodge, they did not all own allegiance to the 
same Grand lodge, and so could not affiliate to the degree neces- 
sary to organize a lodge. But with the union effected, all were 
supporters of the same Grand lodge, and could then organize 
lodges. 

The first lodge chartered after the union of the Grand 
lodges was Morning Star lodge of Worcester, whose charter 
bears date of 1793. the year following the union. This was the 
fourth lodge chartered in the state, there being at this time three 
lodges in Boston. In 1795 Eepublican lodge of Greenfield was 
chartered and charters were also granted to lodges in Lee and 
Great Barrington. 

( 466 ) 



FREE MASONRY 

In 1796, four years after the union of the grand lodges and 
sixty-three after the organization of the first Grand lodge, twelve 
Masons living in and near INIonson, petitioned the Grand lodge 
for a charter. The petitioners had all been raised to the sublime 
degree of Master Mason in Boston, and they were the leaders in 
the community in which they lived. 

Paul Revere, of immortal fame, was at the time Grand Mas- 
ter of the Grand lodge and his name appears on the charter 
which was granted to Thomas lodge, and which is preserved with 
jealous care by the lodge. The charter, the first granted to a 
lodge in Hampden county, is here given in full because of its 
historic value : 

CHARTER 

To all the fraternity to whom these presents shall come, the 
Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of 
Free and Accepted Masons, for the Commonwealth of Massachu- 
setts, sends greeting : Whereas, a petition has been presented to 
us by Samuel Guthrie, David Young, Peter Walbridge, Heze- 
kiah Fiske, Ephraim Allen, Elisha Woodward, Amasa Stowell, 
John Moore, David Peck, Zebediah Butler, Jesse Converse and 
Isaiah Blood, Jun., all Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons, 
praying that they, with such others as shall hereafter join them, 
may be erected and constituted a lodge of Free and Accepted 
Masons, which petition, appearing to us tending to the advance- 
ment of Masonry and good of the craft ; Know ye therefore, that 
we, the Grand Lodge aforesaid, reposing special trust and confi- 
dence in the prudence and fidelity of our beloved brethren above 
named, have constituted and appointed, and by these presents 
do constitute and appoint them, the said Samuel Guth- 
rie, David Young, Peter Walbridge, Hezekiah Fiske, Ephraim 
Allen, Elisha AVoodward, Amasa Stowell, John Moore, David 
Peck, Zebediah Butler, Jesse Converse and Isaiah Blood, Jun., a 
regular lodge of Free and Accepted IMasons, under the title and 
designation of Thomas lodge, hereby giving and granting unto 
them and their successors, full power and authority to convene 
as Masons within the town of IMonson, in the county of Hamp- 

( 467 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

den, and eonnnonwealth aforesaid, to receive and enter appren- 
tices, pass fellowcrafts, and raise Master Masons upon the pay- 
ment of such moderate compensation for the same as may be 
determined by the said lodye ; also to make choice of master, 
warden, and other office bearers, annually or otherwise, as they 
shall see cause; to receive and collect funds for the relief of poor 
and distressed brethren, their widows or children, and in gen- 
eral to transact all matters relating to INIasonry which may to 
them appear to be for the good of the craft, according to the an- 
cient usages and customs of Masons. And we do hei'eby require 
the said constituted brethren to attend the Grand Lodge at their 
quarterly connnunications, and other meetings by their Mastei's 
and Wardens, or by proxies, regularly appointed, also to keep a 
fair and regular record of all their proceedings, and lay them 
before the Grand Lodge when recfuired. And we do enjoin upon 
our brethren of the said lodge, that they may be punctual in the 
quarterly payments of such sums as may be assessed for the sup- 
port of the (irand Lodge. That they behave themselves respect- 
fully and obediently to their superiors in office, and in all other 
respects conduct themselves as good Masons, and we do hereby 
declare the precedence of the said lodge in the Grand Lodge and 
elsewhere to commence from the date of these presents. 

In testimony whereof, we, the (Jrand Master and (4raud 
Wardens, by virtue of the power and authoi-ity to us committed, 
have hereunto set our hands, and caused the seal of the (4i'and 
Lodge to be atfixed, at Boston, this December, the thirteenth day, 
Anno Domini MDCCLXXXXVI, and of ^lasonry 5796. 

PAUTi Revere, G. M. 

Samuel Dunn, D. G. M. 

Isaiah Thomas. G. S. W. 

Joseph LaittHtox, J. AA^. 
Attest: Daniel Oliver, Grand Seci'etary. 
Thomas lodge adopted the name of the Grand Senior War- 
den, Isaiah Thomas, who afterward was for a number of years 
Grand Master. He acknowledged the honor conferred upon him 
by the lodge by presenting to it a set of jewels for the officers, 
and he also bequeathed !i<100 to the lodge which was paid from 

( 468 ) 



FREE MASONRY 

his estate. Thomas lodge secured qiiartei's in the upper rooms 
of the new tavern which had just been completed by AVilliam 
Norcross, but the lodge rooms were not dedicated until 1800. 
This place of meeting was occupied by the lodge until 1835, when 
the charter was surrendered. During the first two years sixty- 
five were admitted to membership, but the records of the lodge 
do not cover those years and it is not known how many were 
made Masons and how many admitted by affiliation. 

Dr. Samuel (Juthrie was the first master of the lodge and he 
served until 1802. The year 1819 is an interesting one to the 
members of the lodge as that year four clergymen, who later in 
life became very prominent, were made Masons. These were 
Eev. Alfred Ely and Rev. Dr. Simeon Colton of Monson, and 
Kev. Dr. Hosea Ballon, 2d, and Rev. Dr. Benjamin M. Hill of 
Stafford, Conn. Dr. Hill carried Masonic enthusiasm to New 
Haven when he removed to that city, and he was largely instru- 
mental in the organization in that city of the commandery of 
Knights Templar. Dr. Colton became president of Clinton col- 
lege, and Dr. Ballon became the first president of Tufts college. 

Thomas lodge thrived, and from its organization up to 1835 
it added 250 names to its membership roll. In that year, the 
anti-Masonic feeling had become so strong in the town, many 
members withdrew from the lodge from reasons of policy, and 
the few faithful deemed it wise to surrender the charter. In 
January, 1835. thirty members, all that remained of the member- 
ship, met and sadly wound up the affairs of Thomas lodge. 

The Bible and cushions were given to Rev. Dr. Ely, the 
venerable chaplain, and it was voted that the jewels remain in 
the possession of the officers last elected to wear them. As there 
was a balance of $227.55 in the treasury, this was divided into 
thirty shares, one for each member to use as a charity fund. 
The charter was surrendered, the lights put out, and what was 
supposed to be the last meeting of Thomas lodge was closed in 
form. 

But Masonry was not dead ! In 1856, the wave of opposition 
to the society having subsided, ten former members of Thomas 
lodge petitioned the Grand lodge to restore its charter, and per- 

( 469 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

mit it to remove to Palmer. The Grand lodge, welcoming the 
revival of the spirit of ]\Iasonry, granted the petition, restored 
the charter, and authorized the lodge to meet in Palmer. On 
October 11, 1856, the lodge was reorganized. Joseph L. Rey- 
nolds, who was master of the lodge at the time of the surrender 
of the charter, headed the petition for its restoration and occu- 
pied the chair in the East at the reorganization. In 1896 the 
lodge celebrated its 100th birthday, the Grand lodge being 
present to assist and share in its. celebration. 

The second lodge chartered in the county was Sylvan lodge 
of Southwick, in 1807. Three years later the lodge removed to 
West Springfield, and changed its name to Friendly Society 
lodge. In West Springfield the lodge met in rooms on the second 
floor of the old tavern building which stands near the western 
end of the common. After its removal, for a few yeai*s the lodge 
grew" in membership, but several members withdrew in 1817 to 
form Hampden lodge of Springfield, and from that time the 
lodge lost ground. Very few members were admitted after 1817, 
and when the anti-Masonic sentiment became pronounced in 1838 
the few members who had labored for the life of the lodge were 
forced to give up the struggle, and the charter was surrendered. 

Hampden lodge of Springfield, the third lodge chartered in 
the county, was the outgrowth of a feeling that there was a field 
for such in the rapidly growing town. Col. Roswell Lee, com- 
mandant at the United States armory, was an enthusiastic Mason 
and he was instrumental in bringing about the formation of the 
new lodge. The initiative was taken in 1816, a petition for a 
charter was signed and forwarded to the Grand lodge, and a 
dispensation was granted for work. The charter was granted 
in 1817, and the first meeting under it was held March 11, 1817. 
The charter members whose names appeared on the charter were 
Roswell Lee, George Colton, John Hawkins, Warren Church, 
Diah Allen, John Newberry, Chester C. Chappell, Joseph Hop- 
kins, Ezra Osborn, jr., Alba Fisk, Joel Brown, John Burt, Will- 
iam H. Foster and Stephen Coally, jr. 

Colonel Lee was elected the first master of the lodge. Justice 
Willard, senior warden, Elisha Tobey, junior warden, George 
Colton, secretary, John HaAvkins, treasurer. 

( 470 ) 



FREE MASONRY 

The meetings of the lodge were held in the old Hampden 
house, which stood at the corner of Main and West Court streets. 
Later the Carew building was erected at the southeast corner of 
Main and State streets, the site of the present Masonic temple, 
and to this the lodge removed, the building being erected princi- 
pally for its accommodation. This was the first building in the 
county and possibly in the state, erected for a Masonic home. 

In 1827 the Masonic hall at the corner of State and Market 
streets was completed and Avas occupied by the lodge and the 
other Masonic bodies in the city. On May 12, 1874, the lodge 
held its first meeting in the rooms which the Masonic bodies had 
fitted up in the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance company's 
building on Main street. These rooms were occupied until the 
removal to the temple, the present home. 

In common with other Masonic bodies in the country, Hamp- 
den lodge felt the effect of the anti-Masonic sentiment, which, 
beginning in 1826, grew more bitter during the following years, 
until it required no little moral courage to proclaim one's self a 
Mason, and in full accord with the teachings and practice of the 
order. As an illustration of the effect of this sentiment, Hamp- 
den lodge admitted twenty-four members in 1826, nine in 1827, 
only three in 1828, one by affiliation in 1829, and one each in the 
following two j^ears. It is, therefore, little wonder that the 
lodge ceased to work. For fourteen years, from 1832 to 1846,. 
no work was done. A few members met once a year, in secret, 
and elected officers. 

In 1834 the Grand lodge ordered that the charters of all 
lodges not working be surrendered. Several of the members of 
Hampden lodge favored complying with the demand of the 
Grand lodge, but the majority of the faithful were of a different 
opinion. At a meeting held September 17, 1834, the lodge 
passed the following resolution : 

"Kesolved, That we will never consent to be deprived of our 
rights and privileges, which belong to us as free citizens of a free 
country, and in our opinion it is not expedient or necessary that 
the Masonic charter should be surrendered and cancelled." 

Some of the members held that this resolution was an act of 
insubordination, and it Avas feared that the charter would be 

( 471 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

stolen and f'oi'Avarded by some of these to the Grand lodge. 
Ocran Dickinson, one of the staunch nicinhers of the fraternity. 
who was oi)posed to the surrender of the charter, secured posses- 
sion of it and secretly placed it in the vault of one of the Spring- 
field banks. The secret of its hiding place was faithfully kept 
and it is doul)tfnl if he took any one into his confidence in the 
matter. 

A few faithful members held secret meetings during the 
fourteen years of jNlasonic darkness, but these meetings were 
solely to keep alive the love of each member for the order. The 
time and place of meeting was known only to the few, and those 
not informed supposed that Masonry was dead. 

In 1846 the lodge began holding regular meetings. The 
charter long hidden was brought to light and placed in the hands 
of the master. With the revival came renewed life for the lodge. 
INIen prominent in public and business life enrolled as members 
of the society. Forty-four members have been elected to the 
office of master of the lodge. Of these eighteen are now living. 
On the evening of March 11, 1901, the lodge celebrated its 81:th 
birthday, and the occasion was graced by the presence of the 
Grand lodge. Grand Master Charles T. Gallagher, on behalf of 
the lodge, presented to the living pastmasters, pastmasters' 
jewels. This was something unique in the history of Masonry in 
the country, and an occasion long to be remembered by the mem- 
bers, and by the many visitore present on the occasion. 

The fourth lodge in the county was not chartered until 1848. 
Anti-Masonry was dead. It had died a lingering death, but like 
a storm it had cleared the atmosphere. Masonry had outlived 
the bitter sentiment which raged against it, and was no longer 
under the ban of popular condemnation. Chicopee lodge was 
the fourth lodge chartered in the county. 

Two years later, in 1848, Mt. Holyoke lodge was chartered. 
S. K. Hutchinson. Hez Hutchins. R. S. Buss. U. W. Quint, Sam- 
uel Oliver. Samuel Flinn, Charles Mason and William Gevat 
signed the petition for the charter. S. K. Hutchinson was elect- 
ed the first master of the lodge. In all twenty-six brothers have 
been elected to the chair. Five years ago the lodge rented quar- 

( 472 ) 



FREE MASONRY 

ters oil High street for a term of ten years. Two tloors of the 
block are used for h)dge purposes. The charter bears the names 
of Edward A. Kaymond, (iraiid .Ahister. and Charles AV. INIoore, 
(Irand Secretary. 

In 1855 a movement was set on foot for a lodge in AVestfield. 
P. H. Boise, a member of j\lt. Tom lodge, E. V. Greene, W. A. 
Johnson, L. B. AValkley. Henry Loomis, C. H. Rand, A. Camp- 
bell, 2d, G. L. Latlin and John Avery, all members of Hampden 
lodge, and F. Fowley, a member of Apollo lodge of Suffield, Ct., 
petitioned for a charter, which was granted for the lodge to be 
knoAvn as Mount IMoriah lodge. The lodge was instituted Feb- 
ruary 12, 1856. P. H. Boise was elected master. Of the ten 
charter members, two, W. A. Johnson and L. B. Walkley, became 
masters of the lodge. In all twenty-two members have been 
elected to the chair. Since its institution the lodge has made 523 
INIasons and its present membership is 808. Its pleasant lodge 
rooms are situated on the fifth floor of Parks block. 

Thomas lodge having removed from Monson to Palmer at 
the revival, the Masons of Monson felt the need of a lodge more 
easy of access, and in 1862 a charter was granted for Day Spring 
lodge. This lodge, which has a membership of over eighty, occu- 
pies the field formerly held by Thomas lodge, but its jurisdiction 
is much smaller. 

Hampden lodge of Springfield having grown with years, in 
1864 a second lodge was instituted in the city. This lodge 
adopted the name of Roswell Lee in honor of the first master of 
Hampden lodge. Ezekiel Clarke was elected the first master. 
Hampden lodge had favored the institution of the new lodge and 
aided it in many ways during its first years. The lodge thus 
started under the most favorable circumstances. From its start 
to the present time there has been a constant acquisition of mem- 
bers, until to-day it is the largest lodge in the state, its member- 
ship being over 560. Twenty-two masters have presided over the 
lodge. Among the treasures of the lodge is a Bible which was 
presented to it by the late 0. H. Greenleaf. On this over seven 
hundred members had been obligated at the time it was placed 
in a cabinet for preservation, a ncAv Bible having been purchased 
by active members of the lodge and presented to it in 1899. 

( 473 ) 



OUB COUXTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Belcher lodge of Chicopee was chartered in 1870. The same 
year Rev. Dr. E. Cooke and eighteen other Masons in AVilbra- 
ham Avere granted a charter for Newton lodge. Brother Cooke 
was elected the first master. 

The first meeting of the Masons of Wilbraham to consider 
the matter of forming a lodge was held at the office of Dr. Steb- 
bins Foskit, October 6, 1870. Other meetings were held there 
and at the office of Rev. Dr. Edward Cooke, principal of AVes- 
leyan academy. The first meeting after the dispensation was 
held in Binney hall, one of the academy buildings, on November 
2, 1870. The first meeting in the present lodge rooms was held 
January 4, 1871. The charter members of the lodge were Rev. 
Dr. Edward Cooke, Dr. S. Foskit, C. G. Robbins, W. H. Day, 
J. W. Green, J. S. Morgan, E. Jones, E. B. Newell, W. F. Mor- 
gan, L. J. Potter, W. L. Collins, A. Boothby, C. M. Parker, W. M. 
Green, W. Kent, D. A. Atchinson, H. H. Calkins, and W. T. 
Eaton. About one-half of the charter members withdrew from 
Hampden lodge of Springfield to form Newton lodge. The lodge 
started with nineteen charter members and received by affiliation 
thirteen and has made 131 Masons. The present membership is, 
however, but fifty-three. 

One night in 1875 there was considerable excitement in New- 
ton lodge, caused by a fire in the barn of one of the charter mem- 
bers. Dr. Foskit. The barn was near the lodge rooms and the 
fire threatened to spread to the nearby buildings. About forty 
brothers were in the hall and most of these were excused at once 
and rendered efficient service in putting out the fire. After they 
withdrew the lodge was regularly closed in form with only the 
traditional number present. 

In 1891 the Masons in Ludlow applied for a charter for a 
lodge and a dispensation was granted and meetings held. In 
1892 the charter was issued and the lodge instituted. It took the 
name of Brigham in honor of the long time superintendent of the 
Ludlow mills. Of the charter members about twenty-seven with- 
drew from Newton lodge to form Brigham. The other charter 
members were members of the Springfield lodges. 

The two lodges in Springfield had grown to such member- 
ship that in 1894 a movement was set on foot for a third lodge 

( 474 ) 



FREE MASONRY 

and several Masons applied for a charter. This was granted and 
in 1895 Springfield lodge was instituted. Harry W. Hasldns, 
who had been senior warden of Roswell Lee lodge, was elected 
master of the new lodge. Brother Haskins is now the district 
deputy grand master for the sixteenth Masonic district, receiv- 
ing his appointment from the hands of the Grand Master. 

The organization of Hampden lodge of Masons in Spring- 
field was the signal for further advance in organized Masonry in 
the county. As numerous ]\Iasons had received their JNIaster 
Mason's degree in Boston, so several had advanced in the higher 
degrees in the same city. 

At a meeting of Chapter members held on September 15, 
1817, it was voted to apply to the Grand chapter for a charter. 
The petition for a charter met with favor in the Grand chapter 
and a dispensation was issued forthwith. Morning Star chapter 
was organized under this dispensation and worked under it until 
June 29, 1818, when the charter was granted. This charter, the 
first issued for a chapter in Hampden county, was signed by 
Andrew Sigourney, Grand High Priest of the Grand Royal Arch 
chapter. The charter members were Rev. Dr. Samuel Osgood, 
for many years pastor of the First Congregational church in 
Springfield, Roswell Lee, commandant at the United States 
armory, AA^arren Church, John B. Kirkham, Alexander Stocking, 
Gideon Burt, jr., Arnold Jenckes, Joseph Bucklew, Thomas 
Knight and William Sizer. 

Dr. Osgood was elected the first high priest and held the 
office two years, when he was elected chaplain, an office he filled 
with zeal for a period of twenty-seven years, from 1819 to 1847. 
Col. Roswell Lee w^as the second high priest and he served five 
years with an interim of one year. 

Ocran Dickenson, than whom no Mason was more zealous, 
served the chapter as high priest twenty-two years, first from 
1832 to 1846, in 1848, 1851, 1852, and 1853, 1857, 1858 and 1859. 
Joseph Carew, the first treasurer of the chapter, served fourteen 
years, and his successor in office, Charles Stearns, served sixteen 
years. Thus it will be seen that in the early days of Masonry in 
the county it Avas customary to give the officers as many terms as 

( 475 ) 



01 R COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE 

they would ac'ce[)t. and that the workers did not drop out of har- 
ness with passing the chairs. 

In 1817, the first year of its life, and while working under 
dispensation, the ehai)ter conferred the degrees on twenty-six 
candidates. In 1818 thii'teen were made Royal Arch Masons in 
the chapter. From 1827 to 1847, or during the twenty years of 
iMasonic trials, the chapter conferred degrees on only three can- 
didates. 

It was not until 18G:^> that the second chapter was instituted 
in the county. jNlorning Star chapter had exclusive jurisdiction 
over the capitular work in the county and when the petition for 
a charter for Mount Holyoke chapter at Holyoke was referred to 
the old chapter by the Grand chapter, JNlorning Star voted in 
favor of it. Accordingly in 1865 the charter issued. The new 
chapter started off with twenty-one members, and its present 
membership is 210. Since its institution it has made 396 Royal 
Arch Masons. Its first meeting was held June 13, 1865. Seven- 
teen companions have been elected to preside over the chapter as 
high priests. 

Six years later, in 1871, Evening Star chapter was instituted 
in Westfield, twenty members of Morning Star chapter with- 
drawing from the mother chapter to form the new. The charter 
bears the date of June 5, 1871. Only six of the charter members 
are living. The present membership is 138. Since its institu- 
tion the chapter has exalted 202 companions. Unity chapter was 
instituted in Chicopee Falls four years later. The year follow- 
ing the institution of Mount Holyoke chapter, in 1864, Hampden 
chapter was instituted in Palmer. 

Springiield Council Royal and Select Masons was instituted 
in 1818, one year after Morning Star chapter Royal Arch 
Masons. The charter bears date of May 28, 1818, and is 
signed with the name of Jeremy L. Ci'oss, Deputy Grand 
Puissant. It was issued under authority of the Northern 
Masonic jurisdiction of North America at Baltimore, Md. The 
charter authorized Roswell Lee to act avS the first Thrice Illus- 
trious Deputy Grand Master, John Newbury Illustrious Deputy 
Grand Master, and Warren Church Principal Conductor of work. 

( 476 ) 



FREE MASONRY 

The council has a luembership ;4)i)roachiug 500, aud has con- 
ferred tlie degrees upon over 800. 

Ilolyoke council was the second instituted in the county. 
This council was organized jNlay 27, 1878, and its charter was 
granted January 7, 1874. The council started with twenty-six 
charter members, (ieorge Herbert Snnth was appointed first 
Thrice Illustrious JNlaster, William Sumner Perkins first Deputy 
Master and AVilliam (ilrover first Principal Conductor. The 
first two are still living. In 1895, twenty-four members with- 
drcAv to form AVilliam Parsons council in Northampton. The 
present membership is 135. 

Washington council was organized in Palmer the same year 
as Holyoke council. A. Bryson was the first Thrice Illustrious 
Master, and six other members have held this high position. 

Springfield Commandery Knights Templar is the only com- 
mandery in the county. Its present membership is more than 
six hundred and it has numbered among its members many of 
the leading citizens of the county. The movement for its organi- 
zation was set on foot in the fall of 1825, there being a number 
of Knights in Springfield and vicinity who had received their 
knighthood in New York or Boston. On February 22, 1826, the 
movement took shape, and a meeting was held in the old JNIasonic 
hall which stood at the corner of Main and State streets in 
Springfield, the site of the present Masonic temple. At this 
meeting it was decided to petition the Grand Encampment for a 
charter. A petition already prepared was thereupon signed by 
Roswell Lee, Henry Dwight, Alpheus Nettleton, John B. Kirk- 
ham, Abiram Alorgan, Major Goodsell, Arnold Jenckes, Amasa 
Holcomb and Hezekiah Cady. 

Village Encampment of Greenwich, having jurisdiction over 
the territory in which the new encampment desired to be created, 
was requested to sanction the granting of a charter and its sanc- 
tion was given. In June following the charter was granted, but 
for some reason, unknown to the present generation of Knights 
Templar, the charter was not signed until June 19, 1830, four 
years later. However, the delay in signing the charter did not 
operate to the disadvantage of the new organization, which has 

( 477 ) 




Daniel Reynolds 

A prominent Mason from 1826 till his death. Past Commauder in 1866 



FREE MASONRY 

always ranked as of June 19, 182G. Its relative position in order 
of precedence was retained when the change was made from en- 
campments to commanderies of Knights Templar. 

Henry Dwight was the first Eminent Commander of the com- 
mandery or encampment. The connnandery flourished until 1831, 
when in common with ^lasonic bodies it felt the anti-Masonic 
sentiment so strongly that it apparently abandoned work. From 
January 5, 1831, until July 4, 1851, the records are blank. 
In 1851, Sirs James AV. Crooks. John B. Kirkham, Ocran Dickin- 
son, Daniel Reynolds, Amos Call and James H. Call succeeded in 
reviving interest in the work, and from that date in July when 
the first meeting for twenty years appears to have been held, the 
interest in the knightly degrees has never flagged. But it was 
in 1861, when the late Judge W. S. Shurtleff was elected Emi- 
nent Commander, that the commandery took up the work with 
enthusiasm, his incumbency of the high office marking an epoch 
in the history of the commandery. 

It was not until 1866 that the Scottish Rites degrees were 
conferred in Hampden county. With so many enthusiastic 
Masons it was but natural that several should seek for added 
]\Iasonic light in the higher degrees as conferred in the Scottish 
Rites bodies. Twelve 32d degree Masons secured a dispensation 
to form a lodge of Perfection and confer the fourth to fourteenth 
degrees inclusive, and the first meeting under this permission 
was held February 1, 1866. The following month three candi- 
dates were given degrees in the body. The first Thrice Potent 
Grand Master was W. H. Spooner. The lodge has a member- 
ship of more than 200. The charter, which was dated May 18. 
1866, was destroyed by the fire in the ^lasonic home in the JNIassa- 
chusetts Mutual Life Insurance building in 1891. 

]\Iassasoit Council Princes of Jerusalem, which confers the 
fifteenth and sixteenth ineffable degrees, was formed in Spring- 
field by eight 32d degree Masons, who met in the fall of 1867 and 
petitioned for a charter. The first meeting under a dispensa- 
tion granted then was held January 8, 1868. The charter which 
was granted by the Supreme council of the 33d degree of the 
Northern jurisdiction of the United States was dated May 19, 

( 479 ) 




(leorge W. Ray 



FREE MASONRY 

1868. This Avas lost iu the fire of February 9, 1891. The coun- 
cil has been prosperous since its organization and now has over 
100 members. The late Albert E. Foth was the first Most 
Equitable Sovereign Prince Grand Master. 

The seventeenth and eighteenth degrees of the Ancient and 
Accepted Scottish Rite, N. M. J. U. S. A. are conferred in 
Springfield chapter of Rose Croix. This chapter was instituted 
in 1894, its charter being granted September 20 of that year. Ed- 
mund P. Kendrick, a 33d degree Mason, is at the head of this 
chapter. 

There are in the county a large number of Masons who have 
received the 32d degree, and a smaller number who have received 
the high Masonic honor of the 33d degree, a degree conferred for 
special zeal or signal service for the institution of Masonry, and 
accordingly prized as the summit of Masonry. 

In the early days of Masonry in the county the meetings 
were held in the day time. Usually the full of the moon was 
selected as the time of meeting, that the members who came from 
a distance could have its light to guide them on their way home 
after the meeting. Probably the first evening meeting was held 
in Springfield, but then 9 o'clock was set as the hour for closing 
the lodge and the member who lingered was fined, the fine going 
into the treasury of the lodge. 

Another old custom was the charging of a fee for attend- 
ance. This method was employed to raise the funds necessary 
for the support of the lodge and its charities. After the adop- 
tion of the plan of annual dues, in many of the lodges visitors 
were required to pay a small fee. 

Under the present system regular annual dues are paid by 
the members, excepting that in several of the bodies the retiring 
presiding officer is made an honorary member and exempt from 
future payment of dues. Some of the bodies also provide that 
members who have for a term of thirty years paid dues shall 
thereafter be exempt from payment. 

The charity disbursed by the Masonic bodies is wide, but no 
record of it is written, the scriptural injunction "Let not your 
right hand know what the left doeth," being literally carried out 
in this connection. 

31-1 ( 481 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

A lasting monument to the .society is the beautiful Masonie 
temple which graces the corner of Main and State streets in 
Springfield. On February 9, 1891. the rooms occupied by the 
various Masonic bodies in the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insur- 
ance company building on Main street were partially destroyed 
by fire. The loss included many of the records, the parapher- 
nalia and other property of the bodies. The loss suggested the 
idea of a Masonic temple and steps were taken at once to this end. 
The estimated expense of the building was $125,000. The build- 
ing cost $72,000. The corner-stone was laid by the Grand lodge 
October 21. 1892. The building fronts 105 feet on Main street 
and 68 feet on State street, and is five stories high. Beside two 
lodge rooms, an armory, ample ante-rooms and banquet hall with 
kitchen annexed, there are club rooms occupied by the Masonic 
club, an organization supported by the several bodies. 



ODD FELLOWSHIP' 

On April 26, 1819, in the monumental city of our land, five 
men gathered in the upper chamber of a tavern now known as 
the "Seven Stars," and there and then with a few preliminary 
arrangements the era of American Odd Fellowship had its be- 
ginning. The lodge they organized was known as Washington 
lodge, No. 1, with Thomas Wildey as noble grand and John 
Welch as vice-grand. A charter was received Oct. 23, 1819, 
from the Duke of York's lodge in the county of Lancaster, Eng- 
land. On Feb. 7. 1821. a meeting of the committee of past 
grands was held to consider the organization of a Grand lodge, 
and Washington lodge was requested to surrender its charter. 
This was done on Feb. 22, 1821, and the organization of the 
Grand lodge was effected Feb. 9. 1822, with Thomas Wildey, 
grand master ; John P. Entwistle. deputy grand master ; W. S. 
Couth, grand warden, and John Welch, grand secretary. 

'Compiled by Charles L. Young. Past Grand Master, from records of the 
order and from data furnished by officers of subordinate lodges in Hampden 
county. Col. Young's work has been largely that of collation and eompilatiou, 
and in many cases he has been supplied with meager data. 

( 482 ) 



ODD FELLO^VSHIP 

The grand lodge of the United States was formed Jan. 15, 
1825, from the (irand hidges of Maryland, INIassachusetts, New 
York and Pennsylvania, and the first officers were chosen as fol- 
lows : Thomas AVildey, grand master ; John AYelch, depnty 
grand master : "William Williams, grand secretary. At the an- 
nual convention, April 25, 1826. the titles of officers were 
changed to grand sire and deputy grand sire. 

The numerical strength and condition of the order of Odd 
Fellows on December 31, 1900, was as follows: Sovereign Grand 
lodge, 1: Quasi Independent (Jrand lodges (Australasia. Den- 
mark, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland) 6; 
Grand lodges, 66 : Grand encampments, 55 ; Subordinate lodges, 
12,347 ; Subordinate encampments. 2.683 : lodge members, 944,- 
372 ; encampment members, 135,209 : Rebekah lodges, 5,605 : Re- 
hekah lodge members, 351,526. In the year 1900 there was ex- 
pended for relief the aggregate sum of $8,989,063.52. 

The Grand lodge of Massachusetts was instituted June 11, 
1823, by Thomas AYildey, then grand master but later grand sire, 
in the city of Boston. The first officers of the grand lodge were : 
Daniel Hersey, grand master; Henry Solomon, deputy grand 
master ; James B. Barnes, grand warden ; William Bishop, grand 
secretary. 

For a time prosperity seemed to come from every direction 
until the legislature passed a law making it a penal offense for 
any person to "administer or take an oath, affirmation or obliga- 
tion in the nature of an oath."" The Grand lodge of the United 
States, in order to assist the brethren out of these legal difficul- 
ties, adopted a resolution to the effect "that so long as the law 
of Massachusetts relating to illegal oaths remains in force the 
lodges of Massachusetts be authorized to admit members, confer 
degrees and install officers on the pledge of honor and that the 
oath be dispensed with." 

In 1883 the charter of the Grand lodge was reclaimed and 
the subordinate lodges reported directly to the Grand lodge of 
the Ignited States. On December 23. 1841, the charter was re- 
stored, the Grand h^lge was re-established and the following offi- 
cers were installed: Daniel Hersey. grand master: Thomas 

( 483 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Barr, deputy grand master ; Aaron Andrews, grand warden ; Al- 
bert Guild, grand secretary and treasurer. 

The present membership of the Massachusetts Grand lodge 
is 52,781. There was expended for relief in 1901, $118,269.17. 

Grand Encampment. — In Massachusetts the work of the 
Encampment branch began before the institution of this Grand 
body, and five encampments— Massasoit, No. 1, Tri-Mount, No. 
2, Menotomy, No. 3, Monomake, No. 4, and Bunker Hill, No. 5— 
were working under dispensations from the Grand lodge of the 
United States granted in 1843. ]\Iembers of all these encamp- 
ments joined in the petition for a charter for a Grand encamp- 
ment in Massachusetts ; and on March 22, 1844, they met at Odd 
Fellows hall, 223 Washington street, at 3 p. m., for the purpose 
of institution. 

Those named in the record as being present were P. C. P. 
Daniel Hersey, P. C. P. Hezekiah Prince, and P. H. P. Kobert L. 
Bobbins of Massasoit, No. 1, P.C.P. Edward Tyler of Tri-Mount, 
No. 2, P. C. P. Daniel Dodge and P. H. P. Josiah C. Waldo of 
Menotomy, No. 3, P. C. P. Thomas Barr and P. H. P. James M. 
Stone of Monomake, No. 4, and P. C. P. Samuel R. Slack and P. 
H. P. John S. Ladd of Bunker Hill, No. 5, together with a num- 
ber of R. P. D. members. 

The dispensation from the Grand lodge of the United States 
having been read, the R. W. D. D. G. Sire Albert Guild an- 
nounced the petitioners present a legally constituted Grand en- 
campment. 

The following officers were then elected : Daniel Hersey, 
grand chief patriarch; EdAvard Tyler, grand high priest; 
Thomas Barr, grand senior Avarden ; Samuel Slack, grand scribe ; 
Hezekiah Prince, grand treasurer; John S. Ladd, grand junior 
Avarden. 

The grand patriarch appointed James M. Stone, grand sen- 
tinel, who was installed. The Grand encampment was then 
closed upon the Royal Purple degree and opened on the Grand 
encampment degree, in Avhich the members were instructed. The 
meeting was then adjourned till evening, opening in the Royal 
Purple degree. It Avas ordered that none but P. C. P.'s and P. 

( 484 ) 



ODD FELLOWSHIP 

H. P.'s be admitted to membership until further instructions 
from the Grand lodge of the United States ; that the grand treas- 
urer be a committee to procure the use of Odd Fellows hall ; that 
the subordinate encampments be requested to make up returns 
of their work to date, and forward the same to the R. AY. D. D. G. 
sire, and that a committee of three be appointed to procure a 
seal. The meeting then adjourned to March 29, and from that 
date to April 23, at which meetings a constitution and by-laws 
were adopted and a committee for procuring a form of charter 
for subordinate encampments was appointed. Massachusetts 
has subordinate encampments with a total membership of 12,000. 

The Rebekah State Assembly of Massachusetts was insti- 
tuted in Friendship hall, Odd Fellows building, 515 Tremont 
street, Boston, Dec. 14, 1898, by Alfred S. Pinkerton, grand sire. 
He was assisted by William F. Dusseault, John U. Perkins, Geo. 
H. Fuller, J. Lawrence Martin, Edwin L. Pillsbury, John Cork- 
hill, Austin S. Estey, William M. Webber and Harvey Clark. 

There were petitioners from 84 lodges. 

The first officers were: President, Mary E. Nevins; vice- 
president, Esther H. Faunce; warden, Clara E. Clark; secretary, 
Sarah A. Barry; treasurer, Elmina P. Brown. The appointed 
officers were : Marshal, Annah L. Batchelder ; conductor, Jean- 
ette Dunham ; chaplain, Elsie L. Robinson : inside guardian, 
Harriet I. Hayward ; outside guardian, Florence Hurn. 

SUBORDINATE LODGES, I. 0. 0. F. 

Hampden Lodge, No. 27. — Hampden lodge was instituted 
February 7, 1844, with Addison Ware, James Henry, James M. 
Thompson, Josiah Hunt, Albert C. Cole, Thomas Hassard, jr., as 
charter members, all of whom are deceased. Present member- 
ship, 725. This is the oldest subordinate lodge in Springfield, 
and is naturally regarded as the mother of the subordinate 
lodges. During the dark days of Odd Fellowship, when the 
public maligned and abused the order, when it was loss of repu- 
tation and loss of business to be known as a member of any 
secret society, when lodges were mobbed, if openly approved, and 
members were assaulted because faithful to their convictions, it 

( 485 ) 




Eliphalet Trask 



ODD FELLOWSHIP 

was then that a few of Hampden's members crept ek)ser together 
in their bond of unity, and legitimately fought the forces of per- 
secution until honor was redeemed and reputation made good. 
To Hampden alone belongs the honor and gloiy of making and 
preserving Springfield a centre of Odd Fellowship. 

The growth of the Order since the tide of opposition has 
turned is phenomenal. Hampden's membership has been taken 
from every department of business and from Springfield's best 
society. Instead of being a reproach to belong to the order it is 
now considered a reliable endorsement of good character, for all 
the virtues that Odd Fellowship teaches are worthy of acquisi- 
tion. It has done a good part in maintaining Springfield's repu- 
tation as being a noted center for skill and fine work in both 
ritualistic and moral Odd Fellowship. 

The present elective officers of the lodge are : N. G., Alvin 
E. Richmond; V. G.. William F. Schrader; Sec'y., William E. 
Sanderson; Treas., M. M. Kendall; F. Sec'y., George F. Amidon. 

De Soto Lodge, No. 155, was instituted March 9, 1871, with 
seven charter members. Its membership January 1, 1902, was 
626. De Soto rapidly developed skill and dexterity in manag- 
ing organizations and a taste for artistic decorative work. The 
lodge purchased an elegant paraphernalia and also gave its de- 
gree stafit' almost unlimited use of the funds. At this time the 
reputation of De Soto's work was extending. From some source 
it had reached the Grand Master's ear that De Soto was spend- 
ing her funds recklessly. He therefore notified her that he 
would make her an official visit on a certain date in the future. 
De Soto utilized the occasion by inviting Grand Sire White, of 
Rochester, N. Y.. Past Grand Sire Nicholson, of Philadelphia, 
Pa., Grand Representative Geary of Baltimore. Md.. and other 
prominent Odd FelloAvs to be her guests on this occasion. They 
all accepted the invitation and were present to witness the work. 
After the guests had complimented the lodge by their approval 
of the degree work the Grand Master said he had made his visit 
with the expectation of disapproving the work, but its beauty 
had completely conquered his objection, and he advised De Soto 
to follow the motto on their banner, ''Quod Facimus, Bene Facia- 
mus" (AVhat is Avorth doing is worth doing well). 

( 487 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

De Soto lodge has twice been honored by the election of a 
grand master from her membership, Dr. W. AV, Gardner in 1880, 
and Henry Denver in 1890. She has also had one of her mem- 
bers on the board of trustees of the Odd Fellows home, F. A. 
Barbour having held that office since 1895, and is now superin- 
tendent of that institution, having been appointed to take charge 
on the first of April, 1901. 

The present elective officers are : N. 6., Fred H. Weston ; 
V. G., E. F. AVade; Sec, L. AV. AVhite; Fin. Sec, N. A. Holland; 
Treas., F, R. Sistare. 

Amity Lodge, No. 172, was instituted September 15, 1875. 
The following were the charter members : Fred A. Burt, F. A. 
Norway, H. C. Burdick, S. H. Pratt, E. R. S. Stickney, A\'. D. 
Davis, E. F. Pratt, J. H. Lewis, 0. AV. Pratt, AVillard Grover, S. 
C. Couch, L. D. Robinson and R. H. Parker. At the first meet- 
ing of the lodge G. F. Farmer from De Soto lodge, and J. H. 
Haskins, G. H. Lapham, C. H. Emerson and S. B. Sexton from 
Hampden lodge, were admitted by card. 

The lodge was instituted by John U. Perkins, grand master, 
assisted by the board of grand officers. 

The lodge began its meetings in the old Masonic hall on 
State street, and in June, 1876, removed to a hall over the Third 
National bank, where it remained until 1882, afterward meeting 
for a time in the old hall of Hampden lodge, where De Soto lodge 
still meets. AVhen Hampden lodge furnished its new hall in the 
old court house, now known as Odd Fellows' hall. Amity lodge 
began to meet there, and still continues to occupy Odd Fellows' 
hall. 

The first elective officers of the lodge were : N. G., Fred A. 
Norway; V. G., J. H. Haskins; Secy., J. H. Lewis; Fin. Secy., 
G. H. Farmer ; Treas., L. D. Robinson. At the last meeting in 
November, F. A. Norway resigned, and J. H. Haskins was elected 
noble grand for the remainder of his term, this being done for 
the purpose of having a representative in the Grand lodge. 

AVilliam H. Mullen became a member May 9, 1877, and was 
killed in December of the same year, in San Francisco, by falling 
from the veranda of a hotel, and, being unknown, the body was 

( 488 ) 



ODD FELLOWSHIP 

about to be buried by the city when his traveling card from Am- 
ity lodge was discovered. The lodge was notified and the re- 
mains brought back to Springfield and buried with the honors 
of the order. 

In 1886 six members withdrew and organized Tekoa lodge at 
West Springfield. 

The present membership numbers 410. The officers are : 
N. G., F. H. Haskins; V. G., Geo. H. Coburn ; Secy., H. E. 
Corry ; treasurer, W. A. Hatch. 

Bay Path Lodge, No. 234.— In the autumn of 1895, a senti- 
ment prevailed among a few Odd Fellows who resided in Spring- 
field, "but holding membership elsewhere," that there was room 
enough for another lodge in our beautiful city. Accordingly a 
petition was drawn up and signed by eighteen Odd Fellows (not 
one of whom was a member of either of the lodges in our city). 
This petition was sent to the Grand lodge, asking for a charter, 
which was duly granted. A charter list of 27 card members and 
184 initiates was obtained. 

The Grand Lodge officers were present March 18, 1896, and 
instituted Bay Path lodge in the hall on Worthington street. The 
following officers were elected and installed into their respective 
offices by the grand officers: Noble Grand, George T. Allen; 
vice grand, Charles H. Graves ; R. Secy., Alonzo T. Hussey ; Fin. 
Secy., Charles H. Edwards : Treas., Ernest L. Thompson. The 
harmony that existed from the time this lodge started until the 
present time has been true. At the very beginning Hampden 
lodge desired the new^ lodge to start on a foundation that would 
stand, and a beautiful Holy Bible was presented to Bay Path 
lodge. 

Permission was granted by the Grand lodge to work the 
three degrees in one evening, March 19. The first degree was 
worked by Amity lodge. No. 172, with 23 men on 161 candidates, 
in Hampden lodge hall. The second degree was worked by Te- 
koa lodge of West Springfield, by 21 men on 161 candidates. The 
third degree was worked by Hampden lodge on 160 candidates. 
The work has been carried on by Bay Path lodge in a very credit- 
able manner since its organization. During the Spanish- Amer- 

( 489 ) 



OUR COUNTY AXD ITS PEOPLE 

icau Avar Bay Path lodiie sent eight to the front, four out of the 
number having died, viz. : Bros. Harrj^ G. Vesper, Paul P. Ves- 
per. Thomas C Boone and Henry C. Boweu. Bay Path lodge 
has lost 11 by death since its organization. The lodge changed 
its location on September 1, 1899, from its AVorthington street 
hall to the G. A. R. INIemorial building, Court street. Great in- 
terest is taken by the members in the work as is evidenced by the 
large numbers who attend the meetings each week. The work 
is still progressing. Great efforts are being put forth to im- 
prove the work. Since coming into its new hall the brothers and 
officers are more enthusiastic, and one and all are striving to gain 
the topmost round of perfection. 

The present membership to January 1, 1902, is over 300. 

Bay Path lodge has connected with it an association, known 
as Bay Path Instant Relief association. It is simply for its own 
members. When a brother dies, instead of waiting for a regu- 
lar meeting, the treasurer immediately draws a check and pays 
over to the proper persons. 

The present officers are: N. G., S. L. Stanley; V. G., B. D. 
Nash: Secy., A. T. Hussey; Treas., W. A. Ody; Per. Secy., H. R. 
Hooper. 

Agauwn Encxnnpmcnt, No. 25, was instituted at Springfield 
on January 6, 1847, with the following as charter members: 
James M. Thompson. George AY. AVilson, Addison Ware, George 
Smith, AA^illiam Hankerson, John F. Comstock, A. A. Upson, 
John Grant, Thomas A. Lewis, Benjamin K. Bliss, Samuel D. 
Holman, Jasper R. Rand, T.yman Lewis, Charles Dickerman and 
Henry F. Gardner. 

Of these fifteen charter members but one is now living ; our 
venerable and worthy brother and patriarch, George Smith. 

The first elective officers installed into office were James 
M. Thompson, C. P. ; John F. Comstock, H. P. ; Addison AAT'are, 
S. W. ; George AY. AYilson, S. : Samuel D. Holman, T., and AA^il- 
liam Hankerson, J. AY. 

From that time until the present, the growth of Agawam en- 
campment has been steady and continuous ; and from a member- 
ship of thirty-two, at its beginning, it has at this time 415 mem- 

( 490 ) 



ODD FELLO^VSHIP 

bers in <iood standing. In financial and numerical streno:tli it 
ranks the second in this .inrisdiction ; Avhile its reputation for 
business management and conducting its degree work is second 
to none. 

The present officers are F. H. Cooke, C. P. : S. L. May. S. 
AV. ; Geo. 0. Bartlett, J. AA^ ; R. B. Hopkins, H. P. ; E. E. Lean- 
der, Scribe ; AV. PI. Potter, F. Sec : E. A\\ Lathrop, Treas. 

Springfield Encampment, No. 82, was instituted Friday, 
June 24, 1898, in Bay Path hall on AYorthington street, by Grand 
Patriarch Charles C. Fuller, assisted by the board of grand offi- 
cers. 

The first officers of the encampment were C. L. Young, 
C. P. ; C. E. Fisk, S. AV. ; Clarence A. Putney, J. W. ; R. E. Pad- 
dock, H. P.; C. H. Craves, T. : AI. O. Cowles, R. S. : J. II. For- 
sythe, F. S. 

After the institution, supper was served at the Cooley hotel 
and ill the evening under the escort of Canton Chapin the officers 
repaired to Hampden lodge hall, where Agawani encampment by 
special request conferred the degree upon 70 members. 

On Friday, August 26, 1898, Cabot encampment of Chicopee 
consolidated with Springfield encampment, the ceremony being 
performed by (Jrand Patriarch Charles C. Fuller. Robert E. 
Paddock of this encampment l)ears the honoi-ed distinction of be- 
ing a past grand patriarch. 

The present officers are: C. P., A. T. Hnssey : S. AY., F. T. 
Morton: J. AY., E. L. Thompson: H. P., R. E. Paddock: R. S., 
AI. O. Cowles; F. S., J. H. Forsythe ; T., C. H. Graves. 

Canton Chapin, No. 64. — On the evening of July 18, 1895, 
Canton Chapin No. 64, Patriarchs Alilitant, Third battalion, 
Third regiment, department of Alassachusetts, was instituted by 
Department Commander General Frank Alerrill and staff. The 
officers of the canton were mustered in by Alajor C. H. Rust, as- 
sisted by Alajor D. MaxAvell and Captain 0. G. Nutting. At the 
institution of the canton Col. AY. E. Sanderson was installed as 
commandant, a position which he held with credit to himself and 
honor to the canton for four successive terms. 

In 1889, owing to business engagements, he refused to stand 
for re-election. lender Col. Sanderson's able leadership and 

( 491 ) 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

wise judicious counsels the canton prospered and made itself a 
power that was felt in patriarchs militant circles, ever striving to 
attain all that was noblest and best in this branch of the order. 
His motto was "Onward." Col. Sanderson was ably assisted 
in his effort by Chevaliers C. A. Leander and G. T. Allen, who 
were mustered in as lieutenant and ensign. 

Canton Chapin's membership has grown steadily since its 
institution and now numbers 240 Chevaliers of all ranks. 

The present officers are: Commandant, A. E. Richmond; 
Lieutenant, David Ross; Ensign, C. H. Cutler; Clerk, F. R. 
Allen ; Accountant, W. 0. Bartlett. 

Canton Spring-field, No. 23.— On February 18, 1886, Canton 
Springfield, No. 10, Patriarchs Militant, was organized as a 
Grand canton, containing three component parts, by General 
John C. Underwood. The first officers were : Captains, F. A. 
Judd, E. W. Lathrop, T. A. Allen ; Lieutenants, J. L. Strong, E. 
E. Estes, C. H. Rust; Ensigns, W. C. Fielding, C. H. Lewis, W. 
H. Potter ; Clerk, James S. Ritchie ; Accountant, W. M. Stevens. 

On June 25, 1899, the Grand canton was reduced to a can- 
ton and was officered as follows : Commandant, George F, Ami- 
don ; Lieutenant, Oliver G. Nutting ; Ensign. William E. Sander- 
son ; Clerk, James S. Ritchie ; Accountant, William H. Potter. 

The present membership is nearly 150. Several of its mem- 
bers have been honored with positions of trust: Charles L. 
Young, colonel of the 3d regiment; Francis L. Hosmer, second 
lieutenant, colonel of the 3d regiment ; Isaac S. Berry, major of 
the 2nd Battalion of the 3d regiment. 

The present officers are : Commandant, George A. Barrus ; 
Lieutenant, Edward H. Biggins; Ensign, Harry W. Stacy; 
Clerk, Myron 0. Cowles ; Accountant, W^illiam H. Potter. 

Morning Star Rehekah Lodge, No. 9, was instituted March 8, 
1870, with 18 charter members. Grand Master Samuel B. Krog- 
man and Grand Secretary Charles D. Cole having charge of the 
ceremonies. 

The first noble grand was a brother, George Smith, who 
served in that office through 1870 and 1871, and was elected to 
that position for the term of 1873. For seven years the chair 

( 492 ) 



ODD FELLOWSHIP 

of noble grand was filled by H. C. Burdick, F. B. Miller, William 
Smith and Harrison Johnson. 

The first lady noble grand was Mrs. Harriet S. Heath, who 
served two years, 1878-9, Since that time the office has been 
filled by sisters. 

The office of vice-grand at the time the brothers served as 
noble grand was filled by sisters. The first officers of the lodge 
were George Smith, N. G. ; Mary Hankerson, V. G. ; Martha A. 
Lee, R. S. ; Angie R. Brown, T. ; Mary M. Lee, F, S, 

Three of the charter members are living and retain member- 
ship in the lodge, George Smith and H. M. Wood and wife, Mrs. 
Wood being one of the past vice-grands. Some of the officers 
have served for years. Sarah Fernald, elected treasurer for 
term of 1872, served in that office for sixteen years. Ellen C, 
Spear was elected treasurer for the term of 1889 and still holds 
that position. Mary G, Merritt, P. N, G., was elected financial 
secretary for term of 1888, and has been serving each succeeding 
term. Jeanette Dunham, P. N. G., is serving her sixth consecu- 
tive year as secretary. The lodge has been honored in having 
two of its members officers of the Massachusetts Rebekah conven- 
tions, sisters Harriett S. Heath and Etta G. Garfield, and sister 
Jeanette M. Dunham was the first conductor of the Rebekah State 
assembly. Past Grand masters Dr, W, W. Gardner and Henry 
Denver were also members of the lodge, the former still retaining 
his membership. The grand officers of the state have favored 
the lodge many times by visitations, and in 1888 the lodge was 
honored by a visit from James B. Nicholson, past grand sire. 

This lodge was the first to confer the work in the beautified 
and dramatized form and received and did confer the degree not 
only for sister lodges but for sister jurisdictions. 

The present membership of the lodge is 420. The officers 
for 1902 are: Lilian E. Lee, N. G. ; Mary Kimball, V, G, ; 
Jeanette M. Dunham, R. S. ; Ellen C. Spear, T. ; Mary G. Merritt, 
F. S. 

Lucy Wehh Hayes Re'bc'kali Lodge, No, 126, named in allu- 
sion to the wife of one of our nation's presidents, was instituted 
March 27, 1894, by Louis A, Cook, grand master. The charter 

( 493 ) 



OLE COUNTY AM) ITS PEOPLE 

members were David Maxwell, P. G.: Nellie M. Maxwell, P. N. 
G.; Grace I. Maxwell, Etta G. Garfield, P. N. G. : Stedman P. 
Garfield, Hannah E. AVitt, AVilliam Terry, P. G. : Emilie M. 
Terry, P. N. G.; "Frank S. Leonard, P. G. : Emma V. Leonard, 
James R. Earrel, P. G. ; Ellen Farrell, Abbie S. Nichols, P. N. 
G., and Charles L. Young, P. G. 'M. The institution took place 
in Hampden hall. On the night of the ceremonj^ fifty-three 
members were admitted. Later on the meetings were held in 
Bay Path lodge hall on AVorthington street, and thence moved 
to Memorial hall. The first noble grand was Emilie F. Terry. 
The lodge from the night of its institution has been prosperous 
and its present membership is 310. Its present ofifieers are : 
N. G., Louise Dearstyne : V. G., Elizabeth White ; P. N. G., Nellie 
Sparks; Chaplain, Elizabeth Hart; Secy.. Emma V. Leonard; 
F. S., Lilla Hodge; Treas., Alice Cooley. 

Woro)>oco Lodge. No. 74, of Westfield, was instituted June 
23, 1845, by Albert Guild, grand master, assisted 1)y Frederick 
N. Nichols as grand secretary and J. D. Kinsman as grand war- 
den. The charter members were Albert Clark, Alfred A. Up- 
son. Robert M. Wilson, Isaac Stevens, Samuel D. Allen, John F. 
Comstock. W. S. Huntoon and Hamilton F. Ketchum. The first 
officers were : N. G., Albert Clark ; V. G., Alfred Upson ; S., Ham- 
ilton F. Ketchum ; T.. William S. Huntoon. 

At the end of the first year there were 115 applications for 
membership. During the early years of the lodge history, oppo- 
sition arose against Odd Fellowship, and speakers were brought 
to Westfield to show the wickedness of the order. Prominent 
men, such as Hon. E. B. Gillett and Rev. Mark Trafton and 
others, were assailed for being members of such a bad society. 
Dr. Willis of Boston, in one of his addresses said "That it would 
be better for Westfield if the town were in ashes than that there 
should be permitted to live and thrive such a wicked organiza- 
tion." It was said that those who came to scoff remained to 
pray and the candidate who was used as a tool is now and has 
been a member of the lodge for the past 40 years. Rev. Mark 
Trafton was elected a member of congress. Later some 26 with- 
drew from this lodge and formed Westfield lodge. No. 152. The 
present membership 221. 

( 494 ) 



ODD FELLOWSHIP 

Wcstfield Lodge, No. 152. was instituted Feb. 3, 1870, by 
Thomas C. Porter, grand master; Corlis Wadleigh, deputy grand 
master: C'has. I). Cole, grand secretary: Charles P. Hayden. 
grand treasurer, and A. B. Plimpton, grand warden. The num- 
ber of charter members was twenty-nine. The first officers were 
N. C, George Atwater: V. (i.. Wells Noble; Sec'y., M. S. Shep- 
ard; Treas., George Green; I'er. Sec'y., INI. S. Shepard. The 
lodge has been very successful and prompt in the discharge of all 
its obligations. The sick have been cared for, the widow and the 
orphan have had cause to remember that husband and father was 
an Odd FelloAV. The lodge has been honored by having one of 
its members on the grand lodge suite in the person of Robert T. 
Sherman, who served as grand guardian. The present officers 
are : N. G., Henry G. Provin ; Y. G., Fred H. Shepard ; Rec. 
Secy., James C. Taylor: Treas., John L. Smith; Fin. Sec'y-? 
John Boyle. 

Eastern Star Rebekali Lodge, No. 63, of Westfield, was in- 
stituted Feb. 28. 1888, by Robert Tabor, grand master, assisted 
by the officers of Morning Star lodge of Springfield. 

The first officers of the lodge were: N. G., Jane E. Kings- 
bury; V. G.. Mable Nichols; R. S., Adaline Whitaker; F. S.. 
Mary J. Bamblett ; T., Margaret Burgherdt. 

This lodge has a handsome paraphernalia and is especially 
prominent in the excellent manner in which the degrees are con- 
ferred. 

The present officers are: N. G., Hattie AVheaton ; V. G., 
Emma Sheldon; R. S., May Whipple; T., Susan Osborne: F. S., 
R. M. Smith. 

Tekoa Lodge, No. 138, of AVest Springfield, was instituted 
May 1, 1885, by Grand Master Henry K. Braley, with eleven 
charter members. The first officers were N. G., E. C. Mann; 
Y. G., Daniel Flower; Sec, E. W. Tirrell ; Treas., Peter Denno. 

The lodge is well known for the able manner in which it 
confers the degrees ; present membership, 175. 

The present officers are : N. G., Herbert H. Whitting : Y. G., 
Henry Lamont : R. S.. Geo. Miranville : F. S.. Merrill E. 
Streeter: T., Oscar T. Roloff. 

( 495 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Palmer Lodge, No. 190, of Palmer, was instituted August 7, 
1879, by Albert Fessenden, grand master, and Charles D. Cole, 
grand secretary. The charter members were 18. The present 
membership is 156. The lodge erected a temple and occupied 
it in July, 1895. 

Present officers are : Charles D. Holden, noble grand ; 
Charles K. Eussell, vice-grand; George H. Bray, secretary; J. 
Wesley Williams, treasurer. 

Good Cheer Rebekah Lodge, No. 60, of Palmer, was insti- 
tuted Nov. 22, 1887, by Robert Tabor, grand master, assisted by 
Alfred S. Pinkerton, deputy grand master, and afterwards 
grand sire, also J. M. Price, Chas. D. Cole and Julius Clark. 

The first officers were Sarah A. Parkhurst, noble grand ; 
Ellen M. Holden, vice-grand; Mary E. Robinson, rec. secretary; 
Alice M. Smith, treasurer. 

The lodge has been very successful and has earned for itself 
a reputation in the excellence of its work. Thirty-one persons 
were present and took the obligation at its institution. The pres- 
ent membership is 146, 

The present officers are Mary E. Murdock, noble grand; 
Alice M. Shaw, vice-grand ; Carrie B. Reed, rec. secretary ; Ellen 
M. Holden, treasurer. 

Samoset Lodge, No. 160, of Chester, was instituted Septem- 
ber 17, 1872, with sixteen charter members : Joseph T. Gibson, 
Newton D. Prentiss, Major A. Snow, John Truscott, Lewis C. In- 
galls, Joseph C. Seagers, George Hollister, Leroy A. Wilcox, Paul 
R. Towne, Horace M. Wilcox, George P. Higgins, Thomas 
Simons, Albert E. Mixer, George H. Hapgood, Fred S. Otis and 
Thomas Hambley. The first officers were Joseph E. Gibson, N. 
G. ; Thomas Simons, V. G. ; Horace M. Wilcox, Secy. ; Paul R. 
Towne, Treas. 

The lodge now numbers sixty-five members, and is in all re- 
spects a representative, progressive body. The officers for 1902 
are as follows : Wilbur L. Hunt, N. G. ; Edward L. Cowles, V. G. ; 
George H. Hapgood, Secy. ; Leroy A. Wilcox, Treas. 

Monson Lodge, No. 210, of Monson, was instituted by Henry 
Denver, grand master ; James M. Price, grand warden ; Frank E. 

( 496 ) 



ODD FELLOWSHIP 

Ladd, grand marshal ; William Parkham, grand chaplain ; J. 
Lawrence Martin, grand secretary. The first officers were 
SimonTaylor, N. G.; Dana M. Dnstin, V. G. ; John Crass, Sec; 
Frank A. Bills, P. S. ; Irving L. Tefts, Treas. 

The present membership of the lodge is 77. The present 
officers are M. C. Howe, N. G. ; G. L. AYarriner, V. G. ; D. B. 
Needham, Sec. ; F. A. Bills, P. S. ; H. M. Smith, Treas. 

St. John's Lodge, No. 62, of Chicopee, was instituted March 
10, 1845, later surrendered its charter and was reinstituted 
March 8, 1870. From that time to the present the lodge has 
been prosperous, having a present membership of 142, 

On October 1, 1889, about 20 members withdrew from the 
lodge and started a new lodge in Chicopee Falls. The lodge 
gained wide fame in the splendid manner in which it has con- 
ferred the initiatory degree. Harmony and sociability are the 
marked characteristics of St. John's. The present officers are 
George H. Burnett, N. G. ; Carl R. McCoy, V. G. ; William R. 
Crompton, Sec. ; John T. Lyon, P. S. ; Alexander Grant, Treas. 

Chicopee Lodge, No. 115, located at Chicopee Falls, was in- 
stituted by Henry Denver, grand master, assisted by the board of 
grand officers. The first officers Avere : N. G., James H. Loomis ; 
V. G., George D. Bartlett ; R. S., Henry W. Chapin ; P. S., Henry 
H. Leonard; Treas., Russell Markham. The present member- 
ship is 95. 

This lodge is well known for its hospitality and is often vis- 
ited because of its known fraternal greetings and good cheer. 
Its present officers are : N. G., William Henry West ; V. G., 
Fred Snape ; Secy., Albert H. Hatfield: Treas., Walter J. 
Burby; F. Sec'y-, Frank E. Bigelow. 

Holyoke Lodge, No. 134, was instituted September 27, 1849, 
by Grand Master Samuel Wells of Northampton and Alfred 
Mudge of Boston as grand secretary. A large delegation of 
members was present from Springfield and Northampton. The 
petitioners were Addison S. Peck, Daniel E. Emerson, William 
Melches, Samuel H. Batchelder, Daniel Bowdoin, Benjamin Tay- 
lor, AYaldo Shattuck and Abraham Cassey. William Melcher 
was elected noble grand, and Addison S. Peek, vice-grand. On 

32-1 ( 497 ) 



OVE COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Nov. 20, 1854, the lodge surrendered its charter. On May 5, 
1855, a petition was sent to the grand lodge for a return of the 
charter, and the same was returned Nov. 29, 1855. Owing to 
circumstances beyond control, the charter was again surrendered 
Jan. 10, 1857. 

On March 5, 1875, the lodge was reinstituted by S. B. Krog- 
raan, grand master, with J. C. Porter as grand secretary. The 
officers elected were N. G., E. B. Tibbetts ; V. G., W. E. Symes ; 
R. S., E. W. Burns; Treas., Sam'l Snell; F. S., J. M. Sickman. 

Bro. Samuel Snell was one of the first members of the lodge 
and faithfully served as treasurer for over 25 years. The lodge 
appreciated his services and presented him with a veteran's 
jewel. The present officers are : N. G., A. H. Rice ; V. G., G. H. 
Foster ; R. S., C. S. Roberts ; Treas., Geo. R. Smith ; F. S., G. H. 
Burnham. 

Glenivod Kehekah Lodge, No. 104, of Holyoke, was insti- 
tuted Nov. 4, 1899, by J. B. Crawford, grand master, assisted by 
Louis A. Cook, L. Lawrence Martin, Charles A. Boynton, Austin 
S. Estey, Joseph York, A. E. Steele and John W. Prouty. The 
first officers were N. G., Myrtie M. Frissell; V. G., Martha E. 
Dickenson; Sec, Addie M. Porter; F. S., Margaret W. Sargent; 
Treas., Lillie M. Perry. 

The lodge has been very successful and earned for itself a 
good reputation for the excellence of its degree work. Its pres- 
ent membership is 165. The present officers are N. G., Hattie 
E. Caswell ; V. G., Edith Foster ; Sec, Florence Brainerd ; Treas., 
Lucy F. Mooney ; P. S., Lilla Cutler. 

Tvscarora Encampment, No. 30, of Holyoke, was instituted 
Feb. 16, 1883, by Charles N. Alexander, grand patriarch, assisted 
by Grand Scribe Charles D. Cole and Grand High Priest John U. 
Perkins. The first officers were C. P., J. W. Prouty ; S. W., A. 
S. Alden ; H. P., J. W. Meacham ; J. W., J. B. Whitehouse ; Secy., 
S. A. Bugbee ; Treas., M. J. Kelly. 

The present membership is 73. The encampment is in good 
financial condition and has earned a good reputation in confer- 
ring the various degrees. The present officers are C. P., Clar- 
ence A. Bridges ; H. P., George W. Rogers ; S. W., J. M. Toeffert; 

( 498 ) 



AGEICVLTVBE 

J. W., Chas. W. Dustiii: Seey., Geo. B. Sargent; Treas., Chas. S. 
Roberts. 

Canton Holyoke, No. 65, Patriarchs jNIilitant. — The first 
meeting in the interest of forming a canton of patriarchs mili- 
tant in Holyoke was held Oct. 11, 1895. After a few prelimi- 
nary arrangements the meeting adjonrned to Oct. 23, 1895, for 
mustering. 

The mustering officer was general Frank JNI. Merrill, and the 
canton was named Canton Holyoke, No. 65. F. L. Brown was 
elected the first commandant. The canton was mustered in 
with twenty-five members, and though a number have been 
added, death and change of residence has reduced their number 
to twenty-two. The first cantonment was held Nov. 27, 1895. 
Cantonments have been regularly held on the second INIonday 
evening of each month. The canton has been honored in hav- 
ing one of its members elected to the office of major, in the pereon 
of J. R. Mooney. Captain J. L. McKemmie is the present com- 
mandant, and Chevalier C. A. Bridges, clerk. 



CHAPTER XXni 
AGRICULTURE OF HAMPDEN COUNTY' 

The history of any county cannot be complete without an 
account of its agriculture. 

The distinguished ethnologist, Charles Pickering (Harvard, 
1823), has maintained that "The History of the progress of man- 
kind can be distinctly traced to the extension of the areas of cul- 
tivated plants." 

The early settlers of this section brought with them from 
England the customs of that country, many of which it was 
found — sometimes by sad experience — could not be applied to 
the new conditions. They soon learned from the aborigines the 
importance of the Indian corn crop, and copying their crude 

'By Ethan Brooks, of West Springfield. 

( 499 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

methods of cultivation, were generally siiecessfnl with this as a 
staple product for the support of both man and beast. 

There being no market in which either to buy or to sell, these 
settlers were forced to procure from the soil as far as possible 
the necessaries of life. All mechanics and all professional men 
were in a large degree farmers. 

Exchange of produce was common. Meats, grains and fruits 
were passed from one family to another, the like to be returned 
at mutual convenience, and the village mechanic, if kept busy at 
his trade, w^as paid for his services in general farm produce, and 
the clergyman, the schoolmaster and the doctor saw little ready 
cash. 

No farm was without its tiock of sheep, and few if any were 
without their fields of llax; and the thrifty housewife and her 
equally thrifty daughters could card and spin and dye and knit 
and weave and cut and sew the wool and the flax into articles of 
comfort and of beauty. Fruits were dried for winter use. The 
long autumn evenings as a rule were spent in some occupation 
conducive to the welfare of the family. 

Beeves were slaughtered late in autumn, and after dividing 
with neighbors, a goodly portion was "put down" (salted) for 
future use, while the tallow was made into candles which came 
to supersede the pine knot- for illuminating purposes. Hides 
and skins w-ere taken to the village to be tanned for one-half of 
the leather— the farmer's half in turn being taken to the shoe- 
maker and harness-maker to be worked up for the needs of the 
family and the farm. Sometimes the shoemaker brought his 
bench to the farmer's home and made up the annual supply of 
shoes, and generally the tailoress and the dressmaker came to the 
home to do their work. 

Gradually passable roads were worked and occasionally 
streams were bridged, making possible the introduction of the 
stage coach and leading to the cultivation of such crops as could 
find an outlet to the country tavern— established in every town— 
or to the river for transportation to the seaport. 

The earliest cash products of the farm were hemp, flax and 
wool. 

( 500 ) 



AGFICZLTURE 

Large apple orchards were planted, affording an abundance 
of fruit, though the choice varieties known now had not in those 
early days been developed— the crop being used largely for mak- 
ing cider, of which quantities were consumed in every family, 
while the surplus was converted by the nearby distillery into 
another article of commerce— after supplying the home demand 
—cider brandy. Soon a demand came for choice beef cattle to be 
driven to New York or Boston, and so the farmer raised steers 
with which in their growing years to do his farm work, and 
which when matured were stall fed and sold to the drover. West- 
field especially was noted for its large corn cribs and corn fed 
cattle. 

Potatoes, which on the new lands yielded enormous crops, 
were not generally used as an article of table supply, but were 
largely grown for feeding stock, and it was a common practice 
to construct a cellar under the barn floor where loads of this 
product could be stored for winter feeding. 

A factory for the manufacture of potato starch was at one 
time in operation in North Blandford— the price paid for pota- 
toes at the starch works being about ten or twelve cents a bushel. 

With the advent of improved roads came also the establish- 
ment of local manufactories, making a market for such agricul- 
tural products as could be used in these establishments, as well 
as for general farm produce in the homes of those employed in 
these shops and mills. AVooden ware was literally "turned" 
out in large quantities, and iron ore was picked up in some of the 
open fields of Hampden county, notably in the Brush hill district 
of West Springfield, and taken to a smelting furnace at Chicopee 
Falls, then known by the Indian name of Skipmuck, to be made 
into wares of domestic and local need. 

The United States armory at Springfield— developed from 
the germ planted during the revolution— came into substantial 
existence in 1794. Thus a market was opened for general farm 
produce, not only for direct family supply, but for corn to fatten 
the armorers' pork, for there was often a sharp rivalry among 
the veterans of the forge and the lathe as to who should slaughter 
the largest pig. 

( 501 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

The thrifty farmer of those days, schooled to the thought 
that nothing should be permitted to go to waste, burned into 
charcoal the wood which must needs be cleared away to admit of 
growing crops, and as there was then no communication with the 
great coal fields, this product was consumed in every village 
blacksmith shop and in large quantities at the United States arm- 
ory, while the cry of Charcoal ! charcoal ! through the streets of 
the larger towns brought out the prudent housewife who secured 
direct from the producer her baskets of condensed fuel. 

There was little call for young men to leave the farm in 
those early days, and many a family of stalwart sons tarried on 
the old homestead, clearing up wood lands, digging ditches for 
the drainage of low lands and laying stone walls, thus making 
ready for another step in the evolution of agriculture— that of 
dairying. 

Farms— since subdivided— were large in those days, and 
many acres were given to the production of rye, for which crop 
lands that had been in pasture for two or three years— or since 
the last crop of rye was taken off— were ''summer fallowed," that 
is, plowed in the early summer and left till early autumn, then 
plowed again and the grain sowed broad east, as in ancient times, 
and harrowed in. 

This grain, when bolted at the nearby grist mill, afforded ma- 
terial for a large proportion of the bread of the farmer's family. 
One man in a town adjoining Springfield made a business of buy- 
ing wheat and rye of the farmers, having it ground and selling 
the flour from house to house in Springfield. 

Sometimes, as in later years, the most ready cash market for 
rye was the local distillery, while it is always a valuable stock 
food, especially on the dairy farm. Buckwheat was grown as 
an easily produced grain crop and as helpful in subduing new 
lands ; this grain ground Avith corn and rye made a valuable 
provender for fattening the farmer's pork. Oats for feeding 
were also a common crop. 

Butter making— in the hardest way, because none of the 
modern methods and scientific appliances were known — was 
common here, as throughout all New England, and gave a cash 

( 502 ) 



AGRICULTURE 

product, or at least one that could be exchanged with the grocer 
for the necessaries, and with cheese-making was long an impor- 
tant industry, especially in the hill towns. 

As the larger manufacturing establishments came in, 
notably those of Chicopee Falls and Chicopee, in the early part 
of the last century and before railroads connected these markets 
with the outside world, large supplies of beef, pork, veal, nuit- 
ton and lambs, poultry and eggs, potatoes and fruits were 
brought in from the surrounding country, Avhile a few^ nearby 
farmers seized the opportunity to furnish milk and garden vege- 
tables to our growing towns. 

It has been stated on good authority that the first milk of- 
fered for sale in Springfield was carried in a stone jug by an 
Agawam farmer, who drove in front of the house of his cus- 
tomer and "thumped" on the side of his plain farm wagon wdtli 
the butt of his whip to call out the woman of the house. 

Westfield has long been known as the w^hip manufacturing 
center of the world, and Holyoke came into being about the mid- 
dle of the last century. West Springfield, Monson, Palmer, 
Ludlow and the smaller tow-ns have all contributed to make local 
demands for the products of the farm. 

With the building of railroads there began to come a change. 
The north and west began to send produce to our growing mar- 
kets, which in turn demanded more milk and more fresh supplies 
of poultry, eggs, fruits and vegetables; and while hitherto the 
farmer had felt obliged to grow all the grain needed to be fed 
on the farm, he now found that sometimes he could buy grain if 
an increased supply were needed and feeding it to his own stock 
bring the fertility of the west to his own farm ; or, as one shrewd 
farmer once said, "If I wanted to buy manure I would buy 
corn." Tobacco for the last forty years has been a money 
crop, especially in the river towns, and though giving place in 
some degree to market gardening and fruit, still holds a promi- 
nent place. Onions with some are a specialty. Celery was 
hardly known as a market crop forty years ago ; at one time it 
was claimed that celery could not be grow^n to the advantage of 
the producer in this locality. Now with our market gardeners 

( 503 ) 



OVR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

it is a leading crop, the consumption having increased a hundred 
fold within the last ten or fifteen years. 

Farm Inqdcments and Machinery.— It has been well said 
that before the introduction of improved implements and 
machinery, "So much bread meant so much sweat." The im- 
provements Avhich have been made in this direction are perhaps 
as great as in any other industry. The plow in crude form has 
been an implement of husbandry from ancient days. Our New- 
England fathers used the wooden plow with wrought iron point 
while strap iron covered the other exposed parts, and this with 
the heavy drag harrow and the hand hoe were the principal tools 
in cultivating the soil, while planting and sowing all kinds of 
seeds was done entirely by hand ; a small harrow for first hoeing 
and later a one-horse plow were run between the rows of corn 
and potatoes, always followed by hand hoeing. 

The sickle of ancient days seems to have held its place as the 
only implement for harvesting grain till early in the last century, 
when the grain cradle came into use. Mechanics and others not 
generally employed on the farm were accustomed to help in har- 
vesting the grain crop, an acre being considered a fair day's 
work for an able man to reap and bind. (There were no re- 
stricted hours in those days.) 

Mowing was all done by hand, and small boys dropped their 
schooling that they might spread the swaths after the mowers, 
and turn and rake the hay. The horse rake seems to have been 
the first labor-saving implement introduced into the hay field; 
then came the mowing machine, which in some instances could 
be converted into the reaper for cutting grain ; then the tedder, 
doing in the field with one or two horses guided by one man the 
work of twelve men turning hay by hand : along with these came 
the horse-fork for unloading— a wonderful relief to the over- 
worked muscles of man. 

One would need to go through the catalogue of one of our 
establishments for the manufacture of agricultural implements 
to be able to give a correct account of the advantages we now 
have or may have over the methods of our fathers. 

Dairying is no longer a burden to the farmer's home, for the 
milk is either taken directly to market in cans furnished clean 

( 504 ) 



AGRWULTUBE 

by the dealer, or the cream gatherer takes the cream raised by 
modern appliances from the milk of hundreds of cows, and 
through sunuuer's heat and winter's cold converts the same into 
uniform high grade butter. 

When the total abstinence wave swept over the country in 
about 1840 many farmers destroyed their apple orchards as cum- 
berers of the ground, not realizing that the growing markets 
would soon demand the choicest varieties of fruit which the more 
thrifty trees could easily have been made to produce by grafting. 

Fruit growing as a specialty is receiving more and more at- 
tention, as the higher grounds are found to be peculiarly adapted 
to this branch of industry. In the autumn of 1900 a young and 
enterprising farmer in Chester gathered and sold over $1100 
worth of apples from his farm. 

For generations the farmer knew no way to maintain— much 
less to increase— the fertility of his grounds except by plowing 
in green crops and by the application of wood ashes and the 
barnyard manure of the farm. AVithin comparatively few years 
science has come to his aid showing the needs of growing crops 
and pointing out the sources of supply, directing also as to 
methods of destroying insect pests and overcoming fungus and 
atmospheric blight. 

Our agricultural colleges and experiment stations, our 
boards of agriculture, the grange, the local agricultural and hor- 
ticultural societies and farmers' clubs, all tend to awaken a 
desire for the possibilities within the farmer's reach. 

The great variety of early and late fruits and vegetables, 
with the many modern conveniences at the command of the 
farmer household, do away largely with the monotony of the 
early days. Still the edict stands, though in modified force, 
"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread until thou return 
unto the ground." 



( End of Vol. I ) 






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